The Hylian Child
by B-LightWalker
Summary: A baby boy is found abandoned in Gerudo Desert and is soon raised among the Gerudo, but will he be able to become what he was destined for?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

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A sigh escaped a Gerudo guard's lips as she stood in her usual position at the town gates, with the setting sun being her only source of light. The 18-year-old guard wiped her brow. She wore the usual purple guard outfit and had short hair that outlined her face. She looked around occasionally to see if she saw any unusual activity. Not that it really mattered much at this point. One of their earlier leaders signed a peace treaty with the Hylians hundreds of thousands of years ago, agreeing that the Gerudos would work with them and treat them as allies.

Every Gerudo knew the story. It was a piece of history that was important to them. Reminding them that Gerudos and Hylians are allies, even if the alliance was for a short time, but she never liked the story very much. In fact, she loathed it. It was pointless to her. They were enemies, and the moment Ganondorf attacked, the peace treaty would be broken. Her older sister, Ender, however, was fine with the thought of working with Hylians and not help arrange a thousand year war against them.

Yes, 'help arrange.' Her sister had a high ranking among the Gerudo. She did too, but Ender was older, so she was given the position. Their mom used to have it, but she died, so Ender had to take the responsibility. It was their godmother Tori who helped them take care of things around the house. The guard sighed again and shook her head, getting her head out of the clouds. A scowl then formed from underneath her veil as a voe walked around the town gates.

"Lisha!" a voice cried out.

The guard turned her head to the source of the sound. It was another guard who was a friend of hers. Her name was Tangela. Tangela was also 18, but wore a dark blue version of the guard's clothing.

She ran up to Lisha, panting and sweating when she got there. "Hey, Lisha! What are you up to? Y'know, besides making sure no one tries anything suspicious near Gerudo Town?" Tangela asked cheerfully.

"Just thinking about how we're here," Lisha replied flatly, then turned her head back to the vast desert.

"Oh. Are you talking about that vehvi who fought Ganon? The vehvi who fought Ganondorf? Or how we got banned from our valley?" Tangela asked, following Lisha's gaze.

"Either one will work," she said quietly.

Both girls paused and turned their heads in the direction of where they heard a childish screech. Lisha and Tangela heard another loud scream. It was hard to make out, but they could tell the voice belonged to Ender. Lisha saw her year-and-a-half old niece running towards her and bent down to pick her up.

"Sarqso, Lisha," Ender mumbled slightly under her breath. She was a 22-year-old who had long hair that was held in a ponytail. "Kyra, don't do that again," she chided the toddler who looked at her before turning her back.

"Relax, Ender," Lisha shifted Kyra off her shoulder and gave her back to her mother.

Ender took Kyra from Lisha. After Kyra settled on her mom's shoulder, Ender said, "Come on, let's go inside, it will be dark soon."

Lisha and Tangela followed Ender back to Gerudo Town. As Lisha turned, she heard a scraping noise and spun on her heels towards the entrance. She huffed and turned away and caught up with her group.

"This is where we will find the legendary hero? Ha! Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke," the voice was hot with rage, as if it was fire.

"Quiet. The legendary hero will be raised here among the Gerudo. Besides, since this is our tribe as well, it will be easier to keep track of him," this voice was cool, as if ice.

"Whatever," the fiery voice scoffed, "The Hero isn't even born yet, and we still have to worry about him. Yay," the blazing voice mumbled.

"Yes," the cool voice ignored the last part. "Let's go back. They're waiting for us."


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

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~2 years later~

Tori walked around the house, cleaning up and preparing lunch. The godmother shared the house with her godchildren. 24-year-old Ender, 20-year-old Lisha, and her 3-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter Kyra. Kyra was running around in the living room playing with a doll her mom bought her. She heard a knock on the door and Lisha came in and greeted Kyra, who waved back quickly before going back to playing. Lisha looked around the room before seeing her godmother in the kitchen and waving to her.

"Sav'aaq, Lisha. Tell me, where's Ender?" Tori asked, "I haven't seen her around recently."

"She's out of town. Said she was going to help get materials and food for the tribe…from the Hylians," Lisha said as she joined Tori in the kitchen.

"Really? She didn't tell me. How long has she been gone?"

"A few days."

"Do you know when she'll return?" Tori pushed the Hylian shrooms around in the cooking pot.

"Around nighttime," Lisha stated, not really paying attention to the conversation anymore.

-Midnight-

The door creaked open as Ender snuck her body through the crack trying not to awaken the others. A brown satchel, which was filled to the brim with materials, rested against her hip. While a small child of, what she guessed was about 6 months, rested on her shoulder. She closed the door behind her, causing the baby to stir in her arms.

"Shh…quiet, vehvi, or else you will hurt yourself," Ender whispered. The baby calmed down but began to stir again soon after. "You're hungry, aren't you? Well, guess what? I have some food for you and some hearty elixir for your injuries," she whispered, more to herself than the baby.

She placed the tiny baby on one of the floor cushions and walked into the kitchen. Reaching for her satchel she took out some milk that was mixed baby formula. She opened the container that held the milk and took out a bottle of hearty elixir. She poured half in the milk and peaked into the living room. The baby was messing and pulling at the floor cushion. She went back into the kitchen and mixed the two together then heated it up for about a minute or two over a small fire. While waiting for the milk to cool down she brought it into the living room and picked up the baby.

She sat down on a floor cushion and took out a small light blue blanket from her satchel. She held up the blanket and the baby reached for it. "You recognize this don't you?" Ender somewhat asked, then tested the milk on her skin. It was too hot. She shook her head dismissively and put it on the floor. "It's the blanket I found you wrapped in. And I found you" she poked the baby's nose, "on the outskirts of the desert. To be honest, I'm surprised you didn't die of exposure…"

The baby now reached for her hair.

"Before I go to Lady Oma to figure out whether or not I can keep you…it would be nice to know your gender, but you look like a boy to me. I'll just check while I feed you." She picked up the bottle and put it towards the baby mouth. They happily accepted and drank greedily, sipping quietly from the bottle.

Ender started to hum a song the Hylians knew as the Ballad of the Goddess. She continued humming as she checked to find out the gender. What she found out was both surprised her and didn't surprise her, the baby was a boy. It was disappointing to see the baby was a boy, because that meant a larger chance of her not being allowed to keep him. She pushed off her worries and continued humming, much softer now. The baby fell asleep quickly, much to her relief. She sighed and pulled him onto her shoulder. She entered her room and gently lowered him into an empty crib. She kept it, despite Kyla being too old for it. She changed, and was about to go to sleep when she heard a knock on the door.

Ender let out a mutter of annoyance and head towards the front door and opened it. She was greeted by a vai with short white hair. Ender looked at her features and noticed she had the mark of a Sheikah on her forehead. "Can I help you?" Ender asked, looking around to see how the Sheikah got past the night guards. Although the Sheikah was a vai, seeing a Sheikah without any royal court, or princess, or…something was strange.

"I am a member of the Sheikah tribe," her voice was calm yet demanding, "I came here because I noticed you were carrying a baby on your way back home. And I noticed he didn't look like yours. You are now caring for a baby who harbors a sacred, golden treasure and has a great destiny waiting for him."

Ender was confused. The baby looked like every other baby she's ever seen. What golden treasure could he possibly possess?

The Sheikah spoke again, "Are you willing to handle this type of responsibility?"

"The responsibility of what?" Ender asked, "What's so special about this one baby? He looks like all the other Hylians out there."

"The responsibility of raising a hero," the Sheikah stated.

"A hero? Who said this one baby, out of the hundreds of others, would grow up to be a hero?"

"The Goddesses did… Now are you willing to raise him, or do you want me to take him?"

Ender sighed and glanced at the Sheikah. Her bright, gold eyes meeting the Sheikah's vigilant, ruby ones.

"I'll keep him. Unless Lady Oma says no," she added quickly.

"Very well," the Sheikah said something to herself before continuing. "If she says yes, I will visit you occasionally in order to help you."

"Sarqso, and sav'orr," Ender mumbled as she closed the door. She then realized something, how did the Sheikah know she wasn't carrying her own baby? As she turned back and opened the door she noticed that no one was there. "What in Din's name?" She looked around and sighed. She closed the door and retreated to her room to rest.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

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The sunlight stretched over the horizon chasing away any hint of the night. Morning came quickly in the desert. Ender quickly changed into her proper clothes and checked on the baby. He was still asleep. She changed his diaper as quickly and neatly as possible. Putting him on her shoulder she covered him loosely with the blanket and walked out of the house. She looked around and let out a sigh of relief. No one was awake yet. That gave her enough time to get to Oma's quarters without being noticed.

She felt rushed. One side of her was nagging her to get there as quickly as possible. The other side, however, told her to slow down before the baby started crying. That was the last thing she needed. She followed her first instinct and continued speed walking. She didn't want a fellow tribe member to see her holding a child of alien blood. The only thing she was really hoping was that Koume and Kotake weren't awake. If they found out about the baby they would tell every last Gerudo in Gerudo Town. She would be exiled for sure.

"Sav'otta, Ender," a voice cried out.

Ender froze, "Of course," she muttered under her breath. _They decide to wake up early today. When I have to do something important, they decide to wake up early. That's just great,_ Ender thought, annoyed. She took in a deep breath and turned towards the voice.

It was Koume. The older twin of the pair and was responsible for making every weapon in Gerudo Town. She had short, messy, bright orange hair. She was wearing an outfit similar to Ender's. Except she wore a light red vest, thick brown gloves, and a white apron.

"Sav'otta, Koume," Ender forced herself to say cheerfully. "You're up early."

"I know," Koume responded, "But so are you, and, um…" she glanced awkwardly from Ender to the light blue blanket covering her shoulder. "I hope you don't mind me asking Ender, but what's on your shoulder? It can't be Kyra, she's too big."

Ender stuttered, at lost for words. She took a deep breath and looked Koume straight in the eyes. "I can't tell you."

A small smile came across Koume's face. She must've thought it was a joke. "What? Why?"

"Because if I do, you'll tell everyone. Not to mention, there's a chance I'll be executed if Lady Oma says no. You can't risk it, Koume."

"But you have to tell someone, right? So tell me."

"If I do, you'll be executed alongside with me. Are you really willing to be separated from your sister, all because you had to know something so trivial?"

Koume paused and looked at the house behind her. She looked around, studying her surroundings. Tarps were held by large poles over markets that weren't open yet. The large, oddly shaped rock structures stood out against the flat landscape. Water gushed out at its usual pace. The water hit the roofs and following the maze of pathways carved in said roofs. She turned her head towards the palace.

Was she really willing to give up everything she grew up with? Clean, running water, friendly faces, protection… Her sister. No. And nothing in Hyrule would change that. "Fine," Koume looked at Ender. A serious, cold face replacing her warm aura. Koume continued, "Do what you must. But if you are executed, you can't say I knew anything about this."

"Good decision," Ender turned towards the palace and walked away at a brisk pace. She entered the palace and immediately went to Oma's quarters. Two soldiers were standing guard but they let her through and she knocked on the door. A muffled 'come in' answered and she did so. She closed the door quietly behind her and looked at her chief. "Lady Oma," she said.

Oma looked up at Ender. She looked tired but it didn't matter. She was in charge of Gerudo Town and all of its residents. She had to make sure everything stayed in check. "Sav'otta, Ender. Is there a problem?" Oma asked warmly.

"Well, yes. There is a problem."

Oma immediately took interest. "What is it? Are the Hylians blaming us for something again?"

Ender could tell that Oma was joking but sighed. "No, we have a real problem to deal with."

Oma fixed her posture and looked at Ender. "What is it?"

"I found a Hylian baby on the outskirts of the desert. I couldn't find anyone near him. I believe he was abandoned. I was wondering if I… if I could take care of him." Ender paused and looked at Oma. Who seemed to be evaluating the situation.

Oma chuckled, "If we didn't sign a treaty with the Hylians some ten thousand years ago, I would tell you to leave him. And who knows, maybe after he died of exposure a Molduga would find him."

Ender let out a small sound of shock and shook her head, grateful, now more than ever, that Oma's mother lost her position or else that would actually happen. Unfortunately, Oma had a bad habit of mentioning punishments or something else her mother would do and would joke about it. Her dark sense of humor terrified every Gerudo out there. And she was sure every Gerudo hoped that it wouldn't pass on to her daughter, Urbosa. Who was busy visiting her friend at Hyrule Castle.

"Oma, please," Ender muttered, "This is serious."

Oma let out a breath of laughter, "Yes, I apologize. By the way, where is the baby? Did you bring him with you?"

Ender nodded and uncovered her shoulder. The baby was still sleeping.

Oma closed her eyes in thought. There was a short moment of silence before she opened her eyes and stated, "You can keep the baby."

Ender blinked, "Really?"

"Yes. If we leave him in the desert, the Hylians might think we took his mother's life. If we try to return him to the Hylians, they will think we stole him. And killing him isn't an option because of the treaty—not that I would do such a thing. So I guess keeping him is the best option." Oma rose from behind her desk and walked over to Ender. "While we're on the topic, do you mind me asking what you plan on naming him?"

"I-I don't have a name for him."

Oma helped herself and took the light blue blanket off the remainder of Ender's shoulder. She looked over the blanket and noticed light orange stitching in the corner. "Strange," Oma muttered.

"What?"

"There's stitching on the blanket—Hylian, most likely. It's a mess, though."

"Sweet Nayru, it'll be a miracle if we get just one letter out of that."

After continuous trial and error, Ender and Oma managed to get four letters translated.

"The letters spell out Link, but he obviously had a longer name," Ender said, "Or perhaps it's the name of his father."

"Or mother. But what else are we supposed to do? Name him Link-ondorf or something instead of Link?" Oma chuckled as she mocked a previous leader, then put a hand to her chin as if actually considering that option.

"So his name is Link, then?"

"His name is Link."


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

* * *

Link, now a young voe of ten, sat outside under a tarp with Tangela, who decided she wanted to be a merchant and left her position as guard. She sold arrows and was quite the expert of making them, making her perfect for the position. She also taught Link how to make them, which came in handy since he practiced with his bow a lot. A glance around and she noticed how many foreign vai were in town, keeping note of how many looked like they would need arrows.

 _Today will another profitable day,_ she thought with a smile.

She was then snapped out her thoughts when she heard Link hiss in pain. She turned her head and saw him shaking his hand. Her gaze softened as she reached for a bandage and cloth and carefully cleaned the cut Link received from the small carving knife. Once his cut was taken care of she started cleaning the blood-stained knife.

"That's odd," she heard one vai say.

"I thought boys weren't allowed in town," another said.

"No, that's voes."

She couldn't locate who was talking, but she knew the foreigners were referring to Link. Voe weren't allowed in town and Link would be voe soon. She heard these things being said by foreign vai far too many times. She remembered talking to Ender and Lisha about dressing Link up so he could look like a vai once. The conversation ended with Kyra mocking Link, Link going back upstairs to his room, and a big fat no from Tori. After that idea was thrown out the window, Ender decided it would be best to leave Link be and let him wear his usual clothing, which was currently being fixed. Link managed to get a tear in it. So today, Link was wearing a peach shirt with ¾ sleeves, brown capris, and light brown shoes. The clothing was breathable but not nearly as breathable as most standard Gerudo clothing.

 _I wonder if we have any Gerudo voe clothing. If we do, Link can wear it, and he'll be more comfortable,_ Tangela thought.

Link let out a bored sigh and shielded his eyes from the harsh glare of the desert sun. It was then that he felt something wrap around his neck, he knew most would usually panic, and that he should be, but he knew it was his 13-year-old sister Kyra. He shot a glare her way, which she combated with a smirk and a light punch to the arm.

"Come on, pipsqueak," one of her many terms of mockery. "Vaba wants us. And to that, I say sarqso. We're getting out of this goddess-forsaken sun."

Link released an irritated sigh, getting up to follow his sister. As he entered the house, he noticed how tidy everything was. Now a clean house shouldn't be new to him, Tori cleaned the house everyday, but this time there was a new atmosphere surrounding it. He found himself marveling at how the multitude of vases and antiques looked so new, when they were probably older than time itself.

Tori turned to face her grandson and granddaughter and smiled. "Vasaaq, Kyra. Vasaaq, Link." She walked outside to a tarp. She sat down and patted two spots next to her for the pair to sit. They hesitantly joined her and rested in the tarp's shadow. "Soon, you'll start training to become a soldier," she looked at Link.

Link nodded with a smile. He's watched his aunt train many times, and always told her that he wanted to become a soldier like her.

Kyra scoffed, "Like there's even a spot for a Hylian."

Tori ignored her and continued, "And when you do, Link, your sister will help you with the basics. The same way Lisha helped her. You see, we Gerudo stay close, and we always try to help each other. Even though—"

"Vaba, Link isn't—"

"Even though we aren't the same."

Kyra huffed and crossed her arms, pouting.

Link found a grin growing on his face but didn't have enough time to get rid of it before his vaba turned towards him, causing him to release an awkward chuckle.

"I want—no, I _need_ you two to take care of each other, support each other, and love each other, like the siblings you are."

"Link _isn't_ my brother," Kyra hissed, "He never was and he never will be," she glared at Link and scowled.

Link looked at his sister in shock. Sure, he knew his sister wasn't his biggest fan, but hearing her say that hurt. He forced himself to hold back tears and dropped his head, propping his arms on his knees.

Tori rubbed Link's back and looked back at Kyra, "Young vai, apologize to your brother."

"For what? Telling the truth?" Kyra stood up and pointed at Link, "He doesn't belong here."

"Kyra," Tori snapped, "that's enough!"

Kyra grumbled and stormed away. Link wanted to curl up into a tight ball and start crying but instead rested against his vaba's side.

"Don't listen to her, Link," Tori cooed, "I think you belong. You're just as Gerudo as anyone else here." She stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "Unfortunately, she won't be the only one who will put you down. You'll meet tons of people who will make you feel like you're not good enough. And when that happens, I want you to remember that the Goddess chose you specifically to be saved from the cruelty of the desert. Surprisingly, most foreign vehvi aren't shown the same kindness you were. Do you understand, Link?"

Link nodded hesitantly and looked up at Tori before looking at the floor and messing with rug they were sitting on. Link then sighed, "Vaba," he started.

She looked his way and gave a small hum to show she was listening.

"Can you tell me why the Goddess chose me?" he muttered. "And how you know?" Now he sounded like he was challenging her.

She let out a short chuckle, "Am I really that bad at hiding secrets?"

Link nodded.

"Well, I suppose your curiosity is fair for your age. Here's the deal, I'll tell you some now, and as you get older, I'll explain it more." She looked over in the direction Kyra stormed off in, "Just so you know, Lisha is going to make you responsible for bringing Kyra back home."

"…Yeah, I know." To Link, it didn't make sense why he was sent him to retrieve his sister, but he did it anyway.

"Don't worry, we'll still talk about this, but in a more private location."

* * *

"Come on, Link. Put your back into it!" Kyra, now 20-years-old, barked at her younger brother.

Link, the 16-year-old in question, was currently sparring one of the best Gerudo soldiers who _wasn't_ a commander. She was tough, and _much_ bigger than him. He only stood at 5 feet 2 inches, while she stood at the average height, for a Gerudo anyway, of 8 feet. But that wasn't going to stop him, he kept pressing on. He dodged another one of her blows and attempted to attack her and succeeded. He hit her side with the side of his sword which knocked her off balance. This gave him the chance to trip her and knock her down. She fell and before she could get back up the tip of Link's sword was resting just above her throat.

"Link wins," Urbosa, the new chief, cried out. A mixture of cheers and groans followed the announcement. Link exhaled as relief replaced the adrenaline rush he was just feeling. He helped the Gerudo onto her feet and congratulated her despite the fact she lost. He then walked to his family. One of the vais obviously being the opposite of patient.

"Nice job," Lisha said, "For a Hylian," she added.

Kyra forced herself to stifle a giggle.

"Lisha, please," Ender snapped, "I thought you were over this."

"You should be saying that to Kyra. But will you relax? The one time I'm messing around and you get on my case. Besides, it was obviously Kyra."

"Hey!" Kyra exclaimed.

"Hay's for Hylian horses, sis," Link countered like a young vehvi. He enjoyed being around his family much more now, even though he lost a loved one. A little before his vaba died, he noticed his aunt and sister stopped holding prejudice against him. Which they apparently stopped doing a few years before Tori died, he just hadn't noticed.

"But you're one of them."

"So?"

"You did well, Link," a voice commented.

Link immediately turned around to see who it belonged to. The voice belonged to Chief Urbosa. He nodded in respect of her and her compliment.

"You know, with you being one of my best soldiers, I want you to be my escort to Hyrule Castle next week. Is that okay?"

"Yes, Chief."

"Good. You're going to need to pack enough supplies for two weeks and some. The trip to the castle is longer than you think." With that said, she walked away.

"Lucky," Kyra said when they made it back to their house. "You're not even 17, yet you get to go with Lady Urbosa to meet not only the king of Hyrule, but the princess and the other Champions as well."

Link stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "Maybe…maybe she sees something in me."

"What's there to see besides a sunburnt Hylian?"

"Kyra," Ender scolded.

"I'm just saying," she said quietly. She caught a glance of Link as he sat down on a floor cushion and started reading a random book. "…I just don't see what's so special about him."

"It's okay, Kyra. Besides, Link doesn't know what Lady Urbosa sees in him either. You two are on the same page."

"I guess." She sat down on the sofa behind her brother and gave him a half-hug. "Just don't forget that you're representing the Gerudo, even though you're Hylian."

"And don't forget your manners," Lisha blurted from the kitchen. "You're meeting the king and princess of Hyrule."

"Yeah, that too. But what are we gonna do about your clothes? I'm not sure it's appropriate to go greeting the royal family wearing Gerudo voe clothing."

"Well, we don't exactly have any _Hylian_ voe clothing," Link commented.

"True. But we need to think of something."

"Kyra, relax. If I'm representing the Gerudo, that means I have to wear my tribe's garb with pride."

"Fine," Kyra relaxed, forcibly pushing all her weight on her brother. "I'm just worried. Gerudo and Hylian relations are shaky."

"And they always have been. I know."

"I'm just scared of what will happen to the Gerudo if the royal family learns we raised a Hylian as one of us instead of returning them."

"There's nothing to be afraid of, sis. Besides, Vaba wouldn't want us worrying. So be strong, sis. Be strong, for Vaba."

"Only if you promise to be."

"I promise."

"No, you need to Gerudo promise."

"All right, all right. I, Link, a Hylian raised to honor Gerudo ways, promise to be strong for my vaba, my family, and my tribe. And if I fail to keep this promise, may Nabooru haunt me 'til the end of my days."

"Okay, I believe you."

Link shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Well, since I'll be leaving soon, there are some things I need to do."

"Like packing," Ender suggested.

"I'll do that later."

"No, you'll do that now."

Link knew it was now an order and put his hands up in defeat and walked upstairs to pack.

* * *

 **Azral: Thank you.**

 **CrazyDragon200: Thank you. And, to be honest, I am the absolute worst at identifying something as simple as a sentence. Which is why I try to find good** _ **and**_ **free grammar checkers. It doesn't work out that well and my friend, who I usually have check my writing, is a huge procrastinator so it takes a while to get her proof-reading unless I bug her.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

* * *

Link and Urbosa walked through the gates of Hyrule Castle and started heading to the throne room. It was late, and all this traveling made Link want sleep more now than ever. He looked around and noticed that a lot of the voes were wearing armor. He thought it was strange how Hylians dressed and remembered commenting to Urbosa about it earlier.

Dressing matters aside, the behavior of Hylians was another thing. While in Castle Town, there were gossipers who stayed in common places, unlike Gerudo Town, where they were found at The Noble Canteen. When they saw him, their talking hushed and they pointed. He remembered how strange the stable owner acted when he saw him, along with travelers, merchants, commoners, knights, and even some other tribes in Hyrule, none of which he knew the names of. Of course, he knew he was a Hylian but he never felt like he was one; therefore, he proudly called himself a Gerudo instead.

When they made it to the throne room, he bowed the way Urbosa had told him to. He could feel everyone's eyes on him and took a shaky breath. He rose when told, and shifted his eyes around the room quickly; he saw a fish, a vure, a boulder, and two Hylians who were obviously the king and princess. He found it strange; they were all wearing the same shade of blue Urbosa wore. He also started internally scolding himself for not bothering to study the other races found in Hyrule and only about the Gerudo, and barely anything about Hylians. He started focusing on the room to distract himself from all the glares; two sets of staircases that led to the king and princess' throne, a few large statues of knights or heroes, and what seemed to be a large time dial that looked so…familiar. The king rose out of his seat and addressed them.

"Urbosa, I've been expecting you, but I wasn't expecting you to bring a visitor. Who is this?"

"Your Majesty, this is Link…of the Gerudo," she muttered the last part slightly; she was just as worried as Link was about this.

"'Of the Gerudo'…?" he echoed lightly.

"King Rhoam, if you are worried about this, then I can assure you all is fine."

"It's okay, Urbosa. We can discuss this later."

Link tensed slightly and averted his gaze to the ground, knowing he was 'this.'

"I just wish you sent a messenger to tell me ahead of time. I would've had a room prepared, but I believe there are still some available. I can send a handmaiden to get it ready…"

"That would be very appreciated. Thank you."

"It is late; feel free to unpack and rest. Dinner will be ready soon."

Link and Urbosa nodded, then left with the others and went to their rooms. Link followed a handmaiden to his room and thanked her when they made it there. He gave a sigh of relief and dropped his stuff by the bed. He decided to unpack the weapons and shield he brought with him first; he left his clothes in the backpack and started to look around the room. It was average size, and had a bed with blue and gold sheets against the wall. There was also a dresser, a desk and chair, a royal purple sofa, and a large window with red-violet drapes. After a few moments, he heard knocking and went to answer the door. He saw four Hylians, three vais and one voe. Two vais had red paint shaped like a crying eye on their foreheads, while the other vai and only voe had the red paint near their eyes. As much as he wanted to keep staring, he knew it was rude, and instead invited them in. They entered and Link had no idea how to address them; he'd never seen Hylians like this before. But fortunately for him, one of the vais decided to start the conversation.

"I am Impa, leader of the Sheikah. This is my sister Purah, the head researcher for ancient Sheikah technology, Robbie, our head researcher's assistant, and Kada, the Sheikah who has been watching over you since you were a child."

Link arched an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"What's what?" asked Purah.

"What's a 'child'?"

"It's a very young and small Hylian…?"

His expression remained the same. Before Purah could confuse the poor voe even more, Kada jumped in. "What we meant to say was 'vehvi.'" His puzzled look disappeared and his eyes seemed to light up when she said the Gerudo native word. "I'm sorry. I should have told them about Gerudo vocabulary."

"You're fine. Trust me." He waved his arms to dismiss the mistake.

Kada nodded and Impa started talking again. "If you ever need us, you can find us in the courtyard or walking around the castle." With that said, Impa, Purah, and Robbie left the room. Kada stayed behind and sat in the chair at the desk.

"So, vehvi, how are you enjoying your trip?"

"It's been good so far."

She nodded and started admiring the items Link left on the bed. She walked over and picked up a claymore.

"That's a golden claymore," Link said; "it's only given to the most skilled Gerudo sword fighters…" His words trailed off and he looked at the other weapons. He didn't think he was the most skilled Gerudo sword fighter—not to mention he wasn't even a Gerudo.

"Do you like using it?" Kada asked as she stopped turning the claymore over and put it down to pick up a Gerudo scimitar.

"It's good for knockback and it is pretty light, but sa'oten no! I prefer one-handed swords."

"And why is that?"

"…I can hold a shield with one…?"

"Interesting." She looked at him, "I can tell you're good with weaponry. And you must be pretty good if Champion Urbosa brought you here."

"It's just a coincidence. There are a lot of soldiers better than me."

Kada huffed a bit and put the sword down before walking to him. "No, there is a much larger reason she chose you of all people. Link, you are destined for greatness; it's one of the many reasons you weren't fed to a Molduga when you were found. You are going to be a hero." She saw the look on his face grow a bit worried and scared and sighed, "I apologize. I shouldn't have just thrown that at you and expected you to accept it, but it is true. We'll take…smaller steps towards your destiny." He nodded slowly and she started walking to the door. "Oh, yes, before I forget. Here…" She gave him a scroll closed with a blue and red band. "…You'll need that."

She left and almost immediately, a handmaiden stopped by the doorway. "Sir Link," she started, "dinner is ready."

* * *

 **Guest: I'm glad you're interested. And don't worry, I will continue this story and don't plan on just dropping it midway. Also, thank you for reviewing, which motivated me to get off my lazy behind and finally finish this.**

 **I apologize for how long you had to wait for this. I already started chapter six and hopefully I get it done January, February-ish. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter of** _ **The Hylian Child**_ **.** **Feel free to ask any questions, tell me any concerns, comment, criticize, I don't know. You do what you want. Until next time. Bye~**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

* * *

Link finished dinner before everyone else, so he ended up sitting in rather awkward silence. He listened quietly as the King, the Princess, the Champions, the royal councilors, and the royal guards talked about politics, foreign kingdoms, suitors, economics, prayer, and about dealing with Calamity Ganon. He noticed that a few of the chairs at the table were empty and sighed. He waited for Urbosa to stop talking and leaned towards her to ask a question.

"The empty chairs, near the other Royal Guards, who's supposed to sit there?"

Urbosa glanced in the direction of where the Royal Guards were sitting before turning back to him. She put her mouth near his ear and whispered, "One of the captains brought some other guards with him on some trip outside of Castle Town. Why?"

"Nothing important. I just… I just wanted to say hi to someone, Lady Urbosa," he muttered slightly. He zoned out for most of the other conversations and focused on small, minute details in the room. He stopped and caught the stare of a Royal Councilor. He quickly broke the gaze and went back to focusing on the tiny details. The talking around him was constant but it suddenly went silent. He ignored it as the silence lasted for a minute or two until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw Urbosa looking at him with a worried look on her face. "Is something wrong, Chief?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. You," she said with a light chuckle. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes, Lady Urbosa."

"Good. Because Lord Cyrill has been trying to ask you a question."

Link knew that if his skin wasn't so bronzed from the desert sun, that it would be obvious he was embarrassed. He hesitantly turned his head to face the councilor he believed was Lord Cyrill, a man with naturally tanned skin, hazel eyes, and black side-parted hair with a few streaks of gray.

Urbosa merely chuckled, "I apologize on Link's behalf. Mealtimes with soldiers range from being loud and prolonged to being quick and short. Link, however, is one those soldiers that always prefers it quick and short."

Cyrill nodded and opened his mouth to repeat his question but was interrupted by another councilor. "I apologize for how slow Lord Cyrill can be, Sir Link. I am Head Councilor Lady Elfrida." Elfrida was pale of skin with dark brown eyes, her blonde hair tied in a neat bun. Cyrill looked a bit annoyed and the princess stifled a laugh. "In any case, what is it like to live in the desert?"

Link stayed quiet for a short moment before answering, "Well, during the rainy season, the days are shorter than the nights by about an hour. And during the dry season, day and night are the same length. Days are hot, nights are cold. It's pretty much what you'd expect if you lived in a desert." Cyrill raised an eyebrow in puzzlement while Elfrida seemed a bit too interested for her own good. _Why does she care so much?_ Link thought; _It's the desert, nothing much to it besides sand…and Moldugas._

Cyrill cleared his throat before saying, "I believe Lady Elfrida wanted to know more about your personal life as the only male allowed in Gerudo Town. Perhaps you could tell us more about that."

Link nodded slightly, "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but there's not much to talk about. I spend most of my time training and researching."

Elfrida jumped in before anything else could be said, "What do you research?"

"Gerudo history."

"And…?"

"That's it. Gerudo history."

"You don't study about anything else? Like, oh say, Zoras, or Gorons, or maybe even Ritos?"

"I never planned on leaving the Gerudo region, so I was never interested. And to be honest, I'm still not interested."

"That can't be true, you at least want to know something, right?"

Cyrill sighed, "Leave the kid alone. If he doesn't care, he doesn't care."

"Quiet," she ordered and gave him a cold glare before looking back at Link. "So, what do you wish to know?"

Link hated that he couldn't think of a way to avoid the subject. "I guess knowing the names of the other tribes would be nice…"

"Link, please tell me you're joking," Urbosa said quietly.

"I apologize Chief, but I'm not."

"Link, Gorons and vai Ritos come into town every day. The only tribe you shouldn't know about are the Zora, honestly."

Princess Zelda decided to join in on the voe's embarrassment. "Quick question: what have you been calling Gorons and Ritos this entire time?"

Link swallowed, "Boulder people and oversized vures."

Urbosa and the large rock—Link still didn't know his name for some reason—burst out in laughter, which caused the people at the other tables to stop their own conversations and look over.

"'Oversized vure'?" The vure suddenly repeated with a trace of annoyance.

Urbosa, still laughing, barely managed to successfully tell Link to explain it.

"Yes, vure. It's Gerudo for bird," Link muttered and received a death glare from him.

"Well," Elfrida said, "I suppose Link calling you that was reasonable. We didn't give him a proper introduction!"

 _This vai seriously needs to take it down a notch_ , Link thought.

"Ah, my apologies," King Rhoam said with a bit of strain to his voice. "Zelda, care to do the honors?"

Princess Zelda nodded and placed her fork down on her plate. She had a worried look on her face, but smiled anyway; to Link, it was obvious it was forced. "Link, I would like to introduce you to our Zora Champion, Princess Mipha."

The red Zora also gave a forced smile, but it held a bit more sincerity than Zelda's.

Zelda continued her introductions. "Here is our Goron Champion, Lord Daruk, and our Rito Champion, Warrior Revali."

Daruk finished laughing and gave a large smile, teeth and all—nothing but a look of pure enthusiasm. Revali, meanwhile, simply frowned and huffed a little.

Zelda chuckled slightly, "Of course, you already know about our Gerudo Champion, Chief Urbosa."

 _If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now_ , Link thought as he nodded his thanks for the introductions Urbosa managed to leave out.

"Perhaps, tomorrow you can meet the other members of the Royal Council."

"That would be appreciated Princess, sarqso."

Silence followed and she blinked, "I apologize, I didn't understand. Can you say that again?"

Urbosa coughed into her fist a few times as she finished laughing and put a hand on his shoulder again. "He's saying thank you."

"Ohhh," Everyone but Urbosa and Link said in unison and realization.

After dinner ended, Link went back to his room and started unpacking the rest of his stuff. When he finished, he changed into a beige long-sleeved shirt and brown pants and was about to go to lay down when he heard a knock at the door; with a frustrated sigh, he opened the door and saw Kada.

"Lady Kada," Link started, "what are you doing up so late?"

"Sheikah always keep a vigilant eye on those they protect."

He moved aside so she could come in.

"No need. I just needed to give you a few more scrolls and some books." She placed them in Link's arms and turned on her heel. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sav'orr, Lady Kada," Link said before closing the door and placed the items down and went to bed.

"Goodnight to you too, Link."

Meanwhile, Lady Urbosa waited patiently in front of King Rhoam's quarters. She could hear light muttering coming from the room and sighed heavily. Rhoam wasn't lying when he said they would talk about Link later, she just wasn't expecting it to be so soon. A short moment later the door opened and she was invited in. Rhoam sat at his desk while Lady Elfrida and Lord Cyrill where at either side of him. She bowed and waited until she was given permission to rise.

Rhoam decided to end the silence that followed, "Lady Urbosa, you know why we're here, correct?"

"Yes, Your Grace. It's about Link." She almost licked her lips but remembered she was wearing lipstick and mentally groaned.

He nodded and put a hand to his chin, "Now, as you know, Hylians and Gerudos have always had a…rather shaky relationship."

"And as Gerudo chief it is my goal to help make it stable."

"I'm aware," he replied flatly. "Lady Elfrida?"

She thanked him before starting, "His Majesty will only consider not breaking the Hylian-Gerudo treaty when we learn about how Link fell under the care of the Gerudo."

"Well," Darn her for not listening to her mother. "I was not chief when Link was accepted to live among us. My mother Lady Oma was. I was also at Hyrule Castle when it happened. My mother said she allowed Link to live in Gerudo Town despite being a Hylian voe because she believed if she tried to return him, the Gerudo would be accused of stealing him."

Lord Cyrill intervened before Elfrida could say something. "That answers a question but it doesn't answer the question _asked_. _How_ did Link get there?"

"I-I don't know."

"So, there's a chance he _was_ stolen."

"I suppose. But, although I don't know, his mother might. She's my second-in-command, so she can't come here, but a messenger may be able to get an answer for me."

Rhoam nodded once more, "I see. Write your letter; a messenger can be sent by tomorrow afternoon. You're dismissed."

Urbosa bowed again before leaving. When she left the room she heard quick footsteps and saw the yellow and blue tail of a dress turn around the corner. "Princess Zelda?" she muttered to herself. She was curious about why Zelda was eavesdropping, but pushed it aside. She walked back to her room, changed, and went to bed.

In the morning, a young handmaiden with light brown skin, dark brown eyes, and short black hair walked to Princess Zelda's chamber with a tray containing some food items. She nodded to one of the knights on duty and he quietly opened the door. She entered and as he closed the door she placed the tray on the table. Then, she walked over to a sleeping Zelda and woke her. The Princess' moves were slow and sluggish but that didn't stop her from getting out of bed. The handmaiden pulled out a chair for her to sit; the princess yawned and rubbed her eyes before grabbing a small loaf of bed from the tray.

"Thank you, Coralyn."

"You're welcome, Princess," she replied and grabbed a brush and comb off the vanity and the parts of her dress out of her wardrobe.

She did Zelda's hair and helped her get dressed while she listened to her talk about her adventures traveling around Hyrule, her struggles with prayer, her love for Sheikah technology, and just random thoughts. When finished, Zelda took a book from her extensive book collection and sat back down at the table.

Coralyn sat down as well and took a breath before saying, "Um, Your Highness?"

Zelda looked up in response.

"I heard the news about the Hylian Gerudo boy, and I'm curious. What is he like? If you don't mind me asking."

Zelda marked where she left off with a bookmark and closed the book. "Well, um, he's…interesting, to say the least.

"'Interesting'? How so?"

"Well, he—at dinner last night, he called Revali a vure. Which is apparently Gerudo for bird. I'm not sure if he was mocking Revali when he called him that or if he was just ignorant. I also had to introduce him to the other Champions and offered to introduce him to the other Royal Councilors—thank the Goddess they won't be back for a while."

"You seem irritated. Do you not like him?"

"I don't really know how to feel about him. He's, not to be rude, but he's strange. But he did say something that caught my attention: he said he usually spends his time researching about Gerudo history; the question is, what portion?"

"Maybe you two have more in common than you think."

"Maybe… Well, I suppose that's enough chatter for today. I need to go to the library." She got up and placed the book on her desk and started heading for the door.

"Really? What for?" Coralyn opened the door and followed Zelda out.

"Stuff," she chuckled as Coralyn rolled her eyes slightly and the two separated.

Zelda continued walking through the castle halls and made it to the library. She checked the shelves but couldn't find what she was looking for. She went upstairs and was rather surprised when she saw Link closely looking at the shelves. Part of her told her to leave before he noticed her, but the other part told her to confront him. She inhaled and walked up to him.

"Greetings, Link," she said a bit nervously. What was it about this boy that made her feel like this? It wasn't love—she had possible suitors being checked out anyway—but it was just something about him. If only she could find out what it was…

"Sav'otta, Princess Zelda," he replied. He stopped browsing the shelf and straightened himself.

"Um… Right. A-about yesterday night, you said that you spend your downtime researching. I'm curious since I do research myself, but what time period do you research?"

"Any time period, as long as it's related to the Gerudo, Your Highness. If you don't mind me asking, what do you research?"

"I research Sheikah technology."

"What's that about?"

Her eyes lit up at the question. Anyone who made the semi-mistake of asking her about that knew she could talk about it for hours on end. "I'm glad you asked, but let's go outside first. I tend to get a bit…excited when I talk about this."

Link raised an eyebrow but followed the Princess anyway, unprepared for what would be the explanation of a lifetime.

* * *

 **Okay, so the other day I was checking the stats of this story, and dang! This story has 2,966 views! People** _ **actually**_ **want this story. So, thank you, all of you. I was not expecting that. So two things, one, what have I done to deserve this? And two, I'm curious, I've used this phrase too many times, how do you guys see my characters? I'm wondering 'cause even though I gave you guys semi-descriptions, I still wanna know how you guys see them. Also here's an incorrect quote.**

Elfrida: *sniffs* Smell like good fam in here.

Cyrill: What's 'good fam'?

Elfrida: Not much, fam, what's up with you?

Cyrill: That's it! Where's my royal broadsword?

Elfrida: Cyrill?!

 **Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed reading this chapter of** _ **The Hylian Child**_ **.** **Feel free to ask any questions, tell me any concerns, or you can comment, criticize, I don't know. You do what you want. Until next time. Bye~!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

* * *

Link had never heard such a lengthy or excitable explanation in his life. To be honest, it was the Princess' enthusiasm that kept him interested. He listened as she described her travels around Hyrule and almost everything she learned about ancient Sheikah technology. She would've finished too, but Lady Elfrida decided to make an appearance. Link grew a bit annoyed when she did. Zelda did say the castle garden was one of the most private locations, but even that didn't prevent one from being found.

 _Oh, gods, it's her,_ he thought, and listened to the conversation being held by the nobles.

"Your Highness, I apologize for the inconvenience," Elfrida then realized Link was there as well, "And you too, Link. Princess, it's your father."

"What's wrong?" Zelda stood up from the bench and dusted her dress off.

Elfrida opened her mouth to say something but closed it when she remembered Link. "It's classified."

"Lady Eldrida, there's no point in hiding it. We both know the gossip mongers will catch wind of it eventually."

She sighed, "We believe someone poisoned your father."

An alarmed look came across Link's face, but he resisted the urge to butt in.

"What?!" Zelda gasped, "Who would do such a thing?"

"We're doing our best to figure out. Now, please, your father is waiting." She started to walk away.

"I'm sorry, Link. We'll have to continue this conversation later," she quickly followed Elfrida, leaving Link alone in the garden.

The voe sighed. Part of him wanted to join the princess and councilor, but he decided it would be best to stay out of the way for the moment. "Now…what was I doing again? I was looking for a book about… Din, I forgot…" He sighed and got up to head to the library but stopped when he heard some rustling. He muttered something before heading toward the sound.

"Vasaaq, Link," Kada greeted from behind him.

Link turned around and blinked, "Lady Kada, please don't take this the wrong way, but are you capable of greeting people normally?"

"Very. But I find it much easier to greet people on the spot than waiting for them to notice me. Also, you forgot something," she held up one of the scrolls she gave him yesterday. "I assume this is the item you were looking for?"

She sat down on the bench he was previously sitting on and patted the spot next to her. He sat down next to her, pushing off the feeling of being treated like a child. She took off the band that secured the scroll and unrolled it open. She started explaining the most recent hero and his adventure while saving Hyrule. Recent being 10,000 years ago. Before she could go into depth, Link interrupted her to ask a question.

"Did you hear about King Rhoam?"

She let the scroll curl up. "I never saw you as one to be into rumors."

"It's not a rumor, it's a fact," he stated. "Lady El—"

"Yes, I'm aware. She ran past me on the way here. And, yes, I did hear about the poisoning. The attempt failed, Lord Cyrill was poisoned instead."

"Really? Wait, how do you know?"

"I just do." She opened the scroll again, "Are you ready to continue your lesson?"

Link nodded and listened to her lengthy explanation.

* * *

While Kada was giving Link a history lesson, Zelda and Elfrida made it to the infirmary. Zelda was more anxious than she previously thought. So when she asked one of the doctors about her father, she was pointed toward a bed that her father was…standing by? She looked Elfrida's way and noticed that she looked shocked and a bit horrified. But why? Zelda sighed lightly and resisted the urge to call out Elfrida's actions and walked up to her father.

"Dad, you're okay…?" Zelda knew the term was informal, but for the time being, she didn't care.

Rhoam turned to face his daughter. He smiled when he realized she was worried about him, but frowned a bit when he realized what she said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Lady Elfrida told me that you were…poisoned…" Her words trailed off and she messed with a lock of hair.

Rhoam placed a hand on her shoulder, the gesture was one of the few times he treated her like his daughter. "I'm fine. Thank you for the concern. I believe Lady Elfrida meant to tell you that someone attempted to poison me. Whoever they are, they got Lord Cyrill instead."

"Cyrill?!" Elfrida suddenly blurted out.

Both Rhoam and Zelda looked her way. Rhoam nodded and moved to the side, allowing Zelda and Elfrida to see Cyrill lying unconscious on the bed. He was considerably paler and had some beads of sweat on his face. His breaths were deep and slow.

"Is he going to be okay?" Zelda asked, then turned to her father.

"According to the castle healer looking after him, the dosage of poisoning wasn't enough to be lethal, so he should be fine. It might a few days for him to get the poison fully out of his system, though."

Zelda nodded and looked back at Cyrill. "Are they any closer to figuring out who the suspect is?"

"Well, um," Elfrida stuttered, "it was a slow day so I got the names of all the people the knights on duty recall entering the kitchen that aren't cooks. There was me, Coralyn, and the Hylian Gerudo boy."

"Link?"

Elfrida nodded, "There is also a possibility that the food was poisoned just before it reached the table. Meaning that it wasn't someone who cooked but someone who served."

"Has the type of poison been identified yet?"

"Dr. Purah is working on it," Rhoam said, "We should go now. We can return when Cyrill awakens."

Zelda followed the adults outside the infirmary. She heard Lady Elfrida apologize to her father for the outburst. Claiming that when she heard someone had been poisoned she believed it to be him. Zelda followed them for a bit before leaving and going to her own room. She saw the same tray from this morning still on her table, and took another small loaf of bread and a few pieces of fruit. She had involuntarily chosen to skip lunch when she decided to talk to Link. She finished eating and went to her desk to finish reading her book.

* * *

With the sun starting to set, Link, glad his lesson was over, walked aimlessly throughout the castle. While walking, he heard the voices of at least two vais echoing through the hallway. He could tell by the failed attempt to keep the conversation hushed, they were gossip mongers. Normally, he would ignore the senseless words from a gossip monger, but this conversation caught his attention.

"—break the Hylian-Gerudo treaty, Honbria," one vai said.

"Really? Why?" the vai Link guessed was Honbria asked.

"The councilors and Rhoam believe that the Hylian boy was stolen."

"The Hylian boy was what?" Link asked as if he misheard, and walked up behind the vais.

They immediately turned around and were surprised that the person of subject was so close. Both vais looked similar. Both had round ears, peach colored skin, navy blue eyes, and black hair. They both wore similar styled tunics. The only difference was that one had a pair of glasses while the other didn't, but had a satchel hanging by her side instead.

 _Twins,_ Link thought. He sighed when they refused to answer. "The Hylian boy was what?" he asked again.

"No-nothing, Sir Link," Honbria, the one with glasses, stuttered. "Kreeli, apologize," she hissed and nudged her sister in the ribs.

"Uh, yes, I'm sorry, Sir Link," Kreeli did a small bow and Link let out a small huff of air.

"You know," Link took a step closer to them. "I find it a bit funny that when I'm near, you suddenly decide you want to respect me. I also find it a bit funny, that you don't respect King Rhoam when he's not in earshot. I mean, considering that he's technically the only reason you have a job at the castle, and your life," he added quickly, "it's a bit strange you won't respect him, even when he's not close by. Now, care to tell me what the councilors and the king believe I am?"

"It's nothing bad. They just think—"

"I'm not an idiot. I heard what you said, they think I was stolen. Also," he took another step, now in her face, "next time you want to talk bad about someone but can't say it to their face, don't say it at all. It makes you look weak." With that said, he turned around to continue his wandering.

"Rude," Kreeli muttered to herself.

"It's a castle hallway," Link turned to face them, "If you want privacy, talk in a private location. Not here. Also, think twice before trying to gossip around a Hylian—we have very good hearing. But considering that you're a normal human, you wouldn't know that, would you? Sav'orq."

As they watched Link walk away, Honbria stuck her tongue out in an immature fashion.

* * *

Elfrida, with two message scrolls in hand, walked past Link, who seemed satisfied with himself. She walked for a bit longer before hearing voices and followed the sound. "Finally, a messenger," she said to herself.

She offered to give Urbosa's message to one of the messengers herself, and to her relief, Rhoam let her. She read Urbosa's letter, and unfortunately, there wasn't anything exactly revealing about it. It just gave a brief explanation about the situation and asked for an answer.

She heard the voices complaining about something, and walked up to the source. "Hello, Kreeli. Hello, Honbria," she greeted.

Both stopped talking and greeted her back.

Elfrida nodded, "Kreeli, you're working today, correct?"

"Yes, Lady Elfrida."

"This is a message from Lady Urbosa. It's to be sent to Ender in Gerudo Town." She handed Urbosa"s scroll to Kreeli, gave another nod, and started to walk away.

"Lady Elfrida, the other scroll?"

Elfrida was about to ask what she meant but remembered she wrote her own letter. "Oh, yes, I nearly forgot! This message is to be sent to Koume and Kotake, they're in Gerudo Town as well." She swiftly turned on her heel and left.

"How do you nearly forget sending a letter?" Honbria crossed her arms.

"Happens all the time."

"Not when you're holding the letter."

Kreeli just shrugged and said goodbye to her sister. She then went to the stables to get a horse to start her journey.

Elfrida entered her room and sat down at her desk. She gave a loud, irritated groan and placed her palm against her forehead. She probably would've stayed this way for the rest of night, but a sudden gust of wind and a puff of red smoke prevented her from doing so. She stood up as she coughed into her fist a few times until the smoke cleared. When it did, she turned, and saw an irritated looking Gerudo wearing the clothes of a Yiga blademaster. She didn't have her mask on, but had her windcleaver resting on her shoulder.

"Elfrida, do you care to explain what happened?" the Gerudo asked with a scowl.

"How am I supposed to know?" Elfrida hissed, " _I_ didn't apply the poison. So whichever one of you Yigas did, failed to, one, get the right person, and two, made the dosage far too high, for said wrong target."

"Cyrill's dead?"

"No. But the dosage was just a few units away from being lethal," she sat back down. "I'm glad it wasn't lethal, though."

"Why? With Cyrill out of the way, there would be one less obstacle preventing us from killing the royal family."

"True," she hummed in a reflective way. "But if he was to die in such a manner, the security around the kitchen would be even tighter. Rhoam ordered for stricter surveillance in the kitchen, and that's only because someone was poisoned. Now suppose Cyrill had actually _died_ from the poison."

"I see where you're going with this." She moved her sword and let the tip rest on the floor. "Do you have anymore poison or do you need more?"

"Kelsie, relax, will you? I sent a message to Gerudo Town. I'll get the poison in a few days."

"A few days? We can't risk waiting that long. Who's to say Zelda won't find the Hylian Champion in that time or unlock her powers? You should've just called me, I can get it much faster."

"You make a good point, but I want the tension to die down before we attempt to poison Rhoam and Zelda again."

"I suppose." Kelsie leaned heavily against her sword. "Do you have any idea who the Hylian Champion may be?"

"Not a clue. The royal family has been looking at the younger Royal Guards and knights, though."

Kelsie stayed quiet for a moment before looking at Elfrida, "They're looking for a teenager?" she asked in disbelief.

"I'm thinking more young adult than teenager."

Kelsie nodded, "Well, I'll get out of your hair and tell Master about the incident. Sav'orq!" She disappeared the same way she appeared, leaving Elfrida alone in the room.

Elfrida sighed and almost let her head slam against her desktop. A few minutes later, a handmaiden came to tell her dinner was ready. She thanked the maid and fixed her clothes, then left for the dining hall.

* * *

 **Guest: I'm sorry, I forgot this last time. No, your review didn't come off as criticizing. At least, not in a bad way. In fact, I found your way of summarizing that scene a bit funny. You know, ha ha funny. Most of the story has been planned out already, and I assure you there will be scenes involving Link's past. I just can't really say how close it is.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed this chapter of** _ **The Hylian Child**_ **. And now's the part where I semi-promote myself. Feel free to leave a review, ask a question, or something. I don't know. You do you. Until next time. Bye~**


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

* * *

Purah quickly scribbled her findings onto a piece of scrap paper she found lying around. She was a bit too busy to be worrying about formalities, even with the king. She speed walked throughout Hyrule Castle, planning on delivering the note to King Rhoam herself, but bumped into Lady Elfrida on the way there.

"Hello, Dr. Purah," Elfrida greeted.

"Hi, um…" Purah eyed the area around Elfrida.

"Is something wrong?"

She spoke quickly, "Yeah. We have something important going on at the lab. King Rhoam's in his study, right?"

"No, he's not actually. Are you looking for him?"

"Yes!" She said boldly, then sighed, "Sorry, I just _really_ need to get back to the lab. Can you give this to King Rhoam for me?" She took the note out her pocket and gave it to Elfrida, giving a quick wave before running in the same direction she came from.

Elfrida unfolded the paper and read it; she saw that most of the ingredients were from the Gerudo region and sighed as she folded the paper. Entering the library and choosing a random book off the shelves, she scanned the pages for a few moments. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a nearby door opening, then the light shifting of metal; she turned her head and saw Rhoam removing the 'bookshelf' that was the door to his study. She was grateful it was light; it prevented noise. She rose from her seat, not bothering to put the book back, and walked up to Rhoam.

"Hello, Your Majesty," she did a curtsy, "It's a good morning, isn't it?"

"Yes," he muttered, "it is."

She followed him inside the study and pulled the bookcase back to its original position. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about Lord Cyrill; I visited him recently."

"Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. Better than fine, great. He woke up yesterday."

"Really?"

"Yes. You didn't know that?"

"No, Sire."

"Well, he's been doing much better over these past few days. You should visit him yourself if you don't believe me," he said as he sat down at his desk.

"No, no. I believe you... I'll visit him later."

The king nodded and took a document on his desk to read over; he got halfway through before realizing Elfrida was still in the room. "Is something bothering you, Lady Elfrida?"

"No, it's just the results on the poison."

He placed the paper down and turned to her. "Dr. Purah got the results?"

"Yes, she wrote it down and gave it to me," she unfolded the paper and handed it to Rhoam. While he read it, she said, "…I noticed most of the ingredients are quite common in the desert."

"Your point?"

"I found it a bit strange…because, if the suspect was someone in Hyrule Castle, wouldn't all the ingredients be native to Hylian settled lands?"

He stayed quiet as he thought about this. "I suppose you're right. But don't forget that Hyrule Castle Town is one of the most flourishing trade spots in all of Hyrule. That being said, it could be a mere coincidence."

"It could be, but it being made in Gerudo lands could explain the ingredients."

"It would. And if it was, what Gerudo here has means to poison me?"

"There are some Gerudo workers around the castle, but our suspect could also be Yiga. They live in the desert too."

"Well, what are we going to do if it is a Gerudo?"

"We'll have to figure out who she is and she will be prosecuted." Elfrida sighed before continuing, "Do you have an idea who it could be?"

"No, and I don't wish to speculate. I also advise you to do the same."

"Yes, Sire," she said before glancing at the door and turning to leave. "I have to go. Good-bye, sir."

King Rhoam said good-bye as Elfrida left and reentered the library, making her way to the infirmary. She entered and went over to Cyrill's bed; his skin had much more color than the last time she saw him, but his ears were tilted a bit downward, an indicator that he still wasn't feeling well. He was leaning against the bedrest and reading a book, his sleeves rolled up to reveal an injury on his right arm. He closed the book when he noticed Elfrida and sat up.

"Hello, Cyrill." She pulled up a chair and sat down. "How are you?"

"I'm better. Thank you for your concern, Lady Elfrida."

"Your arm?" she pointed at the black mark that started at his forearm and extended like cracks to his wrist.

He smiled and rotated his arm in response. "It's fine. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. You rarely have your arm showing, so I thought maybe something was wrong."

"Well, it doesn't hurt as much as it did the other day, so that's probably a good sign."

"'Hurt as much'?" she echoed.

"My arm started hurting after I ate some of the food. Possibly a reaction to the poison."

"How do you figure?"

"I don't. It's a guess, really, because my injury is magic induced. I'm not sure how it reacts to foreign substances, especially to poison."

"Interesting. Well, I've got to go. Have to talk to some people, but before I leave, when will you be released?"

"If everything works out, this afternoon."

"Really? That's great!"

"Didn't miss that these past few days," he muttered as he picked up the book.

"I guess I'll see you at lunch, Cyrill," she said, putting the chair back where she found it.

"You too, Lady Elfrida."

* * *

Urbosa was walking beside Zelda alongside the other Champions through Castle Town. A strange trip, yes. Better than the castle? For the time being, also yes.

"I know you haven't spent much time around him," Urbosa started, "but what's your opinion on the boy?" Link had told her about his small encounters with each of them, and with the rumors about the Gerudo spreading, she wanted to know what they thought.

"I, for one, believe he's fascinating," Mipha said.

"Thank you, Mipha," Urbosa muttered.

A part of her believed Mipha was too kind for her own good, so she found it a bit hard to take her compliment seriously. Now, she didn't see Mipha as an overly kind, naive, pushover, but by the Goddess of the Sands, she managed to make _Revali_ , of all people, seem better than he really was. Of course, Urbosa believed she was partly responsible for Revali's attitude. With all the snarky remarks they said to each other, it would only make sense. She looked at the blue Rito, who seemed even more annoyed than usual. She took it back. She was in no way responsible for… _that_.

"How is he fascinating?" she turned her head to Mipha.

"Well, we didn't talk much, but he seemed interested in the Zora. He was extremely formal, too."

"Makes sense. He's never heard of the Zora until the other day. What about you, Revali?"

"He's an asinine little twerp," he spat.

"Thank you, Revali," she said sarcastically, "As always, your opinion doesn't matter in this situation."

"You asked for my opinion so don't start with me, Urbosa. He insulted me, and my people, in the most cruel, foolish, and may I add childish, way possible."

"Really? How?"

"You were there! He called my people overgrown vures."

"Actually, he said 'oversized' not 'overgrown.' But, knowing you, what did he do to make you hate him even more?"

"Not important."

"Okay, then. Daruk?"

"Little guy and I, we're practically brothers! And he's pretty tough for someone so small!" Daruk said, pumping his fists in the air excitedly.

Urbosa smiled, "Thank you for your _worthwhile_ opinion. Unlike the oversized vure in the room…" Nope. No. Never mind. She was 100% responsible.

Revali scoffed, "Princess, since your opinion is _actually_ important, what do _you_ think about him?" He followed the question with a silent glare at Urbosa.

"I can't really think of another way to describe him, but he's…interesting."

"'Interesting'?"

Urbosa returned Revali's glare with a mocking smile, then stopped at a fruit stand.

Revali huffed, "How is _he_ interesting?"

Zelda breathed out, "Well, we both like researching. And he listened to me explain ancient Sheikah technology."

"That must've been one long conversation."

"It was. We almost didn't finish due to the poisoning incident."

"I almost forgot about that," Urbosa muttered as she got three voltfruits from the stand.

Revali squawked as he felt something make contact with the back of his head. Now, Revali wasn't one to overreact. No, no, no, that would be so…immature. Everything would be all right, it was probably just some rambunctious kids playing around who accidentally hit him. These sort of things happen. He rubbed the back of his head, then made a face of disgust as he realized whatever hit him had liquid. It was drying and becoming sticky, and the noon sun was only making it worse.

Fortunately, not many had heard his yelp. However, those who did, were the same people he'd bother taking this trip with. Mipha and Zelda's concern for his well being was heart touching. But that feeling was quickly thrown out the window as he heard Urbosa and Daruk failing at attempting not to laugh. He scowled at them and the two pushed off the Rito's clear annoyance and started laughing aloud. It was the first dinner night all over again. Then, the bell tower rang.

"We should go back to the castle," Zelda said.

As they made their way back, Urbosa noticed Revali refused to let her lag behind him.

"What's wrong, Revali?" she nudged him slightly, "Afraid you're going to be hit again?"

"Afraid? No," he dismissed her ridiculous accusation. "Annoyed? You bet to the gods I am."

"Huh. I didn't realize you would take it so personally."

"I didn't take it personally," he insisted, "but if you do that again, you'll be waking up with egg yolk in your hair. Or worse."

"That'll be interesting. Actually, some Gerudo say egg yolk can do wonders for your hair," she said as she dramatically flipped hers.

Revali made a sound of exasperation before storming ahead of the group.

"Look at the bright side. It was either voltfruit or lightning!"

* * *

Kada leaned over Link and the desk in his room as she pointed out important locations in Hyrule on a map.

"Okay," she pulled away, "show me how to get from Gerudo Town to Gatepost Town."

"I've been meaning to ask: why is it named Gatepost Town?" Link turned his head toward her.

"It's near the Outpost and East Post."

"So it was named after them?"

"Yes. Now show me how to get there."

Link traced the road and muttered the names of stables, settlements, and landmarks that were along the path.

"Good. Well, that ends your geography lesson for today. Any questions?"

"Yes. When will I ever need this? I don't exactly plan on leaving Gerudo Town again after this."

"You'll need it one day. I don't know when, but you will."

"Will I need it the same way I 'needed' those scrolls?"

She looked at the scrolls also lying on the desk. "Yes. By the way, have you been reading over the scrolls about the sword techniques?"

Link nodded.

"Have you been practicing?"

He nodded again.

Her lips moved but he didn't hear her say anything. She sighed before patting his shoulder, "Come on. I want you to meet someone."

Link sighed and followed her out the door. He followed her to the training grounds and sat down on a bench along the wall.

"Wait here. I need to find him."

Link nodded and let his back rest against the wall. After a moment, a knight came over and sat down next to him; Link ignored the knight and sighed. A few more moments of waiting and Link was losing his patience. _Where is she?_

"Uh, excuse me," a voice said.

Link turned his head and saw a girl about his age standing in front of him.

"Sorry to bother you, but you're the boy from the desert, right?"

Link slowly nodded; at this point, he was almost certain everyone in the castle knew who he was.

"Oh, good. They were right."

"Who was right?"

"My friends. They want to talk to you but they're cowards so they sent me."

"Well, as much as I want to go to them, I can't. I'm waiting for someone. Can they come here?"

"Sure," she took a step before turning to face him again. "Oh, yeah. The name's Satori."

"Link," he said. He watched her walk away and leaned against the bench. A few more minutes and Kada finally came back.

"I can't find him," Kada said. "Perhaps he's still on that trip," she muttered. "Well, since we're here, now would be a great time to go over those sword techniques in the scrolls."

"What?"

"I told you you would need them."

"I didn't think you meant now," he said as he followed her to an area not being used by the training knights.

"Link, you've been here for about a week. You're quick to read people. I thought you would know me enough by now. Oh, well." She walked over to the weapons rack and picked up a knight's sword, shield, and halberd. She handed the sword and shield to Link and kept the halberd for herself. "Do you remember the second technique?"

"The seco-er, yes."

She got in a fighting stance, "Come at me."

He ran towards her and dodged an attack. She attacked again, and when it made contact with the shield, he parried. Immediately after, he felt a blow to the stomach and landed on his back; he shifted his weight and rested on his elbow, looking back at her in surprise. He didn't know she was capable of using so much force, and with a spear, too. He got to his feet and saw her shaking her head.

"No, Link. I wanted you to use the shield attack, not to parry."

"What's the point?" Link sighed in exasperation. "A parry can be done in the same amount of time it takes to do a shield attack. There's no point using a weaker technique if a more efficient one can be done in the same amount of time."

"I know parrying is more efficient, but for the time being, it doesn't matter. I asked you to do the second technique, therefore, I want you to do the second technique," Kada said as she got back in her fighting stance. "Ready?"

Link gripped the hilt and nodded.

"Come at me."

He did so. Unfortunately, he parried, and was once again given a blow to the stomach and knocked onto his back.

"Come on, Link. Don't make this more complicated than it already isn't."

He got to his feet again and grabbed the sword and shield.

"The more you fail to shield attack, the more painful this is going to get. Ready?"

* * *

"I'm just saying, there were much more efficient ways the Yiga could've poisoned you," Elfrida said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"I suppose…" Cyrill muttered.

They stepped onto the training grounds.

"What did you need me here for again?" Cyrill crossed his arms.

"Oh, no. I just wanted someone to talk to."

"Of course. Well, I'm going to—"

"No, stay. I want someone to talk to on the way back."

He shook his head, "Well, go and find that person you wanted to talk to so badly, so we can…um… Probably a long shot, but is that the person you wanted to talk to?" he pointed to where Link and Kada were. "Because whoever they are is on the verge of killing that desert kid."

She turned around and saw the two fighting. "Guess I found her."

Cyrill shook his head again and walked over to Link and Kada with Elfrida close behind him. He noticed most of the knights stopped training and were watching them. _This must be pretty entertaining for them to stop their training,_ he thought. "Woah!" he exclaimed as he barely moved out of the way in time to dodge Link.

"Ooh, that _must've_ hurt," Elfrida had one arm wrapped around her stomach and a hand by her mouth.

Cyrill nodded before walking over to Link and extending his hand to help him up. Even with help, Link struggled to his feet. He nearly fell over and was grateful Cyrill was there.

"What are you two doing?" he asked as he helped Link get a firm footing.

"Training," Kada replied with the halberd's tip resting on the ground.

Elfrida started giggling, "You hear that, Cyrill?"

Cyrill looked at her.

"They're training!" she started snickering.

Cyrill had no idea how Lady Elfrida's sense of humor worked but pushed it off and looked back at the Sheikah woman, "What type of training involves sending a kid flat onto his back?"

"I told him that the more he fails to shield attack, the more painful this is going to get," she got in her fighting stance once again. "Ready?"

Link had managed to get his sword and shield and nodded. Cyrill took a few steps back.

"Come at me," she said.

Link went at her, and Cyrill and Elfrida watched as Link was knocked down.

"Come on, Link. You're almost there. A few more tries and you got it."

Link got to his feet slower than last time.

"No, he's done," Cyrill said before walking to Link.

"Oh, come on, Cyrill," Elfrida said, "Let them do it just a few more times."

"No."

"One more time. That's it. Then you can drag him to the infirmary or whatever."

Cyrill released his grip on Link's arm and walked back to Elfrida's side. Pinching the bridge of his nose he said, "You two are going to be the death of him."

"Ready, Link?" Kada raised the halberd.

Shakily, Link nodded. He went at her, and finally did it correctly.

Elfrida cheered.

"See?" Kada put a hand on her hip. "I knew you could do it. If your ancestor could, so could you. Ready for technique number three?"

"No, no. He's done. You two can talk about whatever you wanted to, but this kid is not being involved," Cyrill stated firmly, gripping Link's arm and dragging him back inside the castle. Cyrill eventually let go, but Link still followed him. Upon arriving in the kitchen, Cyrill ordered Link to sit on one of the stools; Link did as he was told and watched Cyrill gather some ice and wrap it in a cloth. "Here," Cyrill said, handing the ice pack to him.

Link put the cloth against his stomach and sighed; he had to admit, it made the growing pain feel a little better. "Sarqso, Lord Cyrill."

"Come on," he started leaving and Link followed. They walked in silence for a while; finally, Cyrill sighed, breaking the silence. "How long were you training?"

"An hour or two."

"Hmm… I suggest you keep that ice pack on your stomach. It hurts now, but it will get worse before it gets better. And be prepared for some looks when the bruise starts showing."

Link groaned slightly. He couldn't, and wouldn't, explain to every person who gave him a second glance that a Sheikah kept gutting him with the shaft of a knight's halberd. Either that, or she somehow managed to punch him every time. A quick wave of pain washed over him and he sucked air through his teeth; this was going to be painful. Cyrill suddenly stopped and Link almost bumped into him.

"You should be able to get back to the training grounds from here. I would go with you, but I have things to do. Good-bye."

"Sav'orq," Link waved, then started walking down the hallway in the opposite direction. He started heading towards the training grounds; if he was lucky, Kada would just review the techniques or do some other thing rather than try to make him train again.

"Oh, hello," Honbria said in a sweet voice, "Link, right?"

"What do _you_ want?" Link grumbled; today was just not his day. _First I'm a living training dummy, then I have to deal with this one again…_

She looked at the ice pack pressed against his stomach. "What's with the ice pack?"

"Doesn't involve you."

She frowned and crossed her arms. "Fine. Then, listen to me and listen good. You're stolen. And I'll make sure Rhoam hears the rumor so much he's forced to do something before that Gerudo decides she wants to answer."

"Are you serious? You had days to think of something and that's the best you got? I was stolen? The sad part is, you're actually trying. Look, I don't care what you want Hyrule to think. I know the truth and so do my fellow Gerudos. So no amount of your childish pettiness will change that."

Honbria retaliated with a smug grin. "Around 16 or 17 years ago, a baby Hylian boy only a few months old was stolen from his home. It lines up when you think about it. You Gerudo used to be nothing but a pack of thieves, and apparently, even after all these years, you can't resist stealing children."

"Yes, we used to be thieves, but that was over 10,000 years ago," Link growled; not wanting to let her get a rise out of him, he adopted a more neutral tone as he continued. "Besides, we didn't steal from women, children, or those incapable of self defense. We had restraint. Also, we have a good relationship with you Hylians—well, you're technically not part of that, but still. So explain something to me, why do you want to damage this peace so badly? Or is it that you're so busy blindly attacking me that you don't realize what you could do to our agreement?"

She opened her mouth to retaliate but was interrupted by someone else.

"Link, there you are!"

He turned around, "Lady Urbosa?"

"Sweet Hylia, I've been looking all over for you," she noticed the vai standing near him. "I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

"No, you're fine, and I was actually just leaving."

Urbosa nodded and waved at the vai before leading him into another hallway.

"Link, I need you to write a letter to your mother. Ask her about how you fell under the care of the Gerudo."

Link gave her a worried look, "I don't understand. Didn't you talk to the king? Why…why would I need to ask my mother about how she found me? King Rhoam doesn't think I was stolen, does he?"

"He doesn't think that yet, but he might believe that soon. Which is why I need you to write that letter because your mother hasn't answered me for some reason. King Rhoam was willing to give me more time to get an answer, but that doesn't mean he's willing to wait forever. So I need you to write that letter, and have it done by tomorrow. Understand?"

"Yes, Chief."

"Oh, sarqso, Link….I really don't know why your mother's ignoring me, but I hope you can get through to her."

"…Yeah, I hope so, too."

* * *

 **My friends—are childish—wanted me to ask: just how old do you guys think I am?**

 **Earthly Entity: Virtual hugs for everyone!**

 **Guest: Thank you. I don't know what that means, though. The unfolding the story part, but thank you. Glad to know you're so excited to see this.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed this chapter of** _ **The Hylian Child**_ **. And now's the part where I semi-promote myself. Feel free to leave a review, ask a question, or something. I don't know. You do you. Until next time. Bye~**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

* * *

Elfrida, seated at her desk, reread the letter she received from Koume and Kotake; they had sent her requested items disguised as bottles of monster extract. One smelling strongly of mighty bananas, much to her annoyance. It was too early for this.

"Is that the poison?" a voice said.

Her immediate reaction was to thrust her elbow backwards and into the face of the speaker; she turned in her chair and saw a Yiga who removed his mask and had a hand over his nose.

"Oh. See, I knew you weren't Kelsie, but I wasn't expecting to see a footsoldier," she turned back to her desk.

The Yiga removed his hand, "Bl-blademaster Kelsie sent me," he said quietly, "She wanted to know if-if you have the poison."

She turned around in her chair again, "Oh, yes. The Gerudo with the Hylian name," she said mockingly. "Well, I do have the poison, and if you don't mind, please tell her that I am _not_ a child and I do _not_ need her checking on me everyday!" she hissed in a low voice.

"Y-yes, ma'am. I'll tell her."

With all his stuttering, she guessed he must've been new to how the Yiga Clan worked.

The footsoldier started talking again, "Um, Master had a message for you, too."

"What does he want, mighty bananas?"

"N-no. He wanted to know why you haven't poisoned the royal family yet."

"Tell him that I am not, and never was, responsible for actually poisoning the food. In fact, lowly footsoldiers, like yourself, do it. Koume and Kotake send me the poison and then one of you idiots take care of it. I'm just a middleman in all of this."

"Oh," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I guess I should get going."

"Good idea. Because you're wasting my time," Elfrida growled.

"My apologies—"

"Just get out," she ordered. He disappeared and she was alone again. Elfrida sighed before opening her wardrobe and taking out and dressing herself in one of her many pastel dresses. She did her hair, slipped on a pair of pumps, and left for guards' chamber.

As she entered the chamber she immediately saw a familiar face, "Captain Ryder, you're back."

"Good morning, Lady Elfrida," Ryder yawned as he finished his greeting.

"Sweet goddesses, you sound horrible," Elfrida commented.

Ryder chuckled lightly, "Trust me. You're not the first one to tell me that."

"Really?"

He nodded before yawning again, "I'm running on a few hours of sleep. We came back very late last night."

"Cyrill figured. But what happened? You're usually back before dinner."

"Lizalfos."

"Oh, wow," Elfrida said, wincing slightly. "Everyone made it back safely, I assume."

Ryder nodded, "An injury here or there but nothing major."

"That's good, and—oh, I just remembered!" Elfrida clapped her hands together excitedly. "While you were gone, the Champions came, and you should've seen Lady Urbosa's escort! His name's Link. He's a Gerudo-raised Hylian and he's adorable."

"The fact that you called him adorable, makes Link sound five, not 15."

"He's 16."

"How would you know? You didn't know he existed until a week ago."

Elfrida gave a slight shrug, "I guess I'm just good at the guessing game."

"Right," Ryder muttered, "Well, I should be going now. His Majesty is usually in his study at this time, so now would probably be the best time to give him the report about our mission."

"I suggest you grab something to eat before going to the king; you still sound horrible."

"Thanks," he said flatly.

They both started leaving the guards' chamber and Ryder waved a good-bye to Lady Elfrida as she went down a different hallway. He made it to the kitchen and saw Cyrill digging through the ice box with Link seated on a stool, facing him.

"Hey, Link. Long time no see," he placed a hand on Link's shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"'Long time no see'?" Cyrill, who had turned around to face Ryder, repeated, "Care to explain what that means?"

"I met him at Kara Kara Bazaar when you were, what, 10?" Ryder looked at Link.

Link slowly nodded, not sure himself.

Cyrill started glaring at Ryder, "So you're telling me that you knew he lived in Gerudo Town this whole time?"

"Not until today," Ryder answered, "Lady Elfrida told me he was Gerudo-raised. At the time, I assumed he was a friend of one of the Gerudos there."

Cyrill looked like he wanted to pursue the topic more but held his tongue. "Here," he handed an ice pack to Link.

"Sarqso," Link said and pressed it to his stomach.

"Hang on, hang on, hang on. You're giving someone something _besides_ trauma?" Ryder pointed at the older man, a mocking expression on his face. "Who are you, and what have you done with Cyrill?"

Cyrill grumbled.

"What happened to you, kid?" Ryder put a hand on the belt of his royal guard uniform.

"Training," Link answered.

Cyrill decided to fill in the rest of the story, "He was training with some Sheikah. Every time he failed to do the maneuver correctly, she would use a spear shaft to knock him flat on his back."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Ryder lightly nudged Link's arm, "Happens to the soldiers here all the time."

"By that he means himself," Cyrill muttered.

Ryder pointed at Cyrill, this time in a threatening manner, "You know what—"

"Don't you have a report to give?" Cyrill snapped.

Ryder growled, "You better declare yourself lucky," he swiped an apple from a fruit basket on the counter and left.

Judging from what he saw, Link guessed Cyrill and Ryder knew each other on a more personal level than most coworkers. He wanted to say they were friends but the way they acted was a bit too violent. It had to be something else. Maybe they were related somehow. Cousins, perhaps.

"I apologize for that display," Cyrill said, "Ryder has the ability to get on my nerves like no one else."

"No, it's fine. I'm like that with my sister."

"Sister, huh? Is she older than you or younger than you?"

"Older."

A breath of a laugh left Cyrill's throat, "I want to say good for you, but siblings are a pain on both sides of the spectrum."

"Do you have any siblings?"

Cyrill sighed, he seemed a bit annoyed, "Remember Captain Ryder?"

He was just there a second ago, how could he not? Link nodded.

"Well, I'm his older brother."

Link wasn't expecting that. Sure, he had guessed they were related, but the amount of physical differences made it hard to believe they were brothers. Ryder's skin was a light tan, similar to Link's before he started spending more time in the sun, and Ryder had blue eyes and blond hair. "But you two look so different."

"They are plenty of siblings who don't look exactly alike. Of course, when you consider the fact that everyone in your tribe has very similar characteristics, seeing something different can be strange."

Cyrill had a point, so Link didn't say anything.

"Well, you have a letter to finish, so I'll leave you be."

"Oh, I finished it already."

"Being proactive. That's nice. But did you give it to a Rito messenger?"

Link nodded again. No he didn't, Kada did.

"Good. Lady Elfrida made a mistake when handling Lady Urbosa's letter and gave it to a Hylian messenger instead." Cyrill shook his head, "A bit foolish if you ask me," he muttered and started leaving the kitchen.

Link hopped off the stool and followed him. Cyrill didn't seem to mind him tagging along, but Link knew he couldn't do this all day. And he didn't want to stumble across a gossip monger who was even bolder than the first two he met. Of course, if Lord Cyrill was nearby, they would probably back off. But the thought of being dragged to train again or being taught something else wasn't fun either. However, what Honbria said yesterday was bugging and annoying him. His mom told him about a string of kidnappings, but she also told him that his birthday didn't line up, meaning he wasn't stolen. But some more context about the kidnappings would be nice, but he wanted to know about the Hylian vehvi first. Cyrill's been here long enough, he had to know something.

"Lord Cyrill, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Cyrill said.

"It's about what this vai said to me. She said that about 20 years ago, a baby Hylian boy was stolen from his home. Did that really happen?"

Cyrill stopped walking and sighed, "Is the vai that told you this a gossip monger?"

Link nodded.

"Ignore her, then. People like her are notorious for leaving out major details. Since she failed to give you a specific location, I'm guessing she was talking about the Yiga Clan incident. In about a weeks time, children from all over Hyrule were stolen by the Yiga Clan. The first area hit was Necluda. That attack was probably personal, but everything else wasn't."

"Kakariko Village is there, right?"

Cyrill nodded before crossing his arms, "But why ask? You and Lady Urbosa are certain you weren't stolen by the Gerudo. You don't think you were stolen by the Yiga Clan, do you?"

"No, of course not," Link shook his head, "I just wanted to clear things up."

"Well, where do you think you're from?"

"My mom guessed I was abandoned by someone who lived at Gerudo Canyon Stable. If not, Outskirt Stable."

"Outskirt Stable's a bit far from Gerudo Desert. But if you're desperate enough, you'll make the journey," Cyrill stayed quiet for a moment before saying, "Kid, you're pleasant company, but I do have work to do. And a pain to deal with," he added quietly. "So unless you plan on helping me, I suggest you don't linger. But since you know Ryder, I assume you know Aryll."

"Aryll's here?"

"Now she is. She would've been here when you first came but Ryder brought her on the platoon. If you want to find her, she's probably playing with the other children in either the courtyard, the guards' chamber or the barracks." Cyrill noticed the questioning look on Link's face. "What?"

"You let vehvi play in the barracks?"

"It's safer than the training grounds."

"How? That's where all the weapons are."

"The weapons are hidden under the stairs and the crates that contain them are too heavy for the children to move and the lids are too heavy for them to open. The ones at the training ground are available for anyone to use."

"Oh."

"Start with the courtyard. You can always find children there."

"Sav'orq."

Cyrill nodded before continuing down the hallway. Link turned around and made his way to the courtyard. He passed through it many times, and every time he had to dodge to avoid hitting, or getting hit, by any vehvi. The noise level was moderate compared to how loud it got around noon. Just like home. Link felt something hit the back of his leg. He looked down and saw a ball rolling along the stone and saw a pair of small hands pick it up, the boy couldn't have been more than seven.

"Sorry," the young boy said.

Link shook his head, "You're fine. But, uh, can you help me real quick?" Link got on one knee to be eye level with the boy. "You see, I'm looking for someone. She's just a few years older than you. Her name is Aryll. Do you know where I can find her?"

The boy nodded before pointing past Link. Link turned his head and saw a small figure in pink sitting on the floor and hunched over something. Link looked back at the boy. What was the Hylian way of saying sarqso again? "Tank you." He said it quietly, so that if he screwed it up, less people would hear it.

"You're welcome," the boy said before walking back to his friends.

If the kid heard him mess up, he didn't say anything. Link walked towards Aryll and leaned over her for a moment. She was messing with some book. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Huh?" Aryll looked above her and her eyes lit up. "Link!" she placed the book down and stood up to hug him. The nine-year-old was now standing on his feet, her sandals pressing into the exposed part of his feet. Link could only return half the hug because of the ice pack. She looked up at him, "I've been practicing my Gerudo, Link."

"You have?"

She nodded and got off his feet before picking up the book again. She quickly flipped through the pages before showing him the book. It was the page he wrote in a few years ago. He wrote in some Gerudo words and how to pronounce them. They both put in the definitions, because at the time he didn't know how to spell half the words necessary for it to be in Hylian. And now it was coming back to him that sarqso in Hylian was 'thank you,' not 'tank you.' He gave the book back and sat down and Aryll sat across from him.

"You go first, Link," Aryll said, "Sarqso."

"Thank you." He said it right this time.

"Sav'otta."

"Good 'mauning.'" Link knew he messed that up.

"Morning, Link. It's good morning."

"Sorry. Good morning."

"Sav'aaq."

"Good day. Hello. Your choice, really," he said with a slight shrug.

"Sav'ork."

"You said it wrong. It's—"

"Sav'ork," Aryll repeated herself.

Link sighed, "Good-bye, Aryll. It means good-bye."

"Sav'saaba."

"Good 'ehvning'?"

"Evening."

"Evening, right."

"Sav'orr."

"Good night."

"Now, if someone says sarqso, you say…?"

Another one he was going to mess up on. "Uh, you're 'velcome'?"

"It's welcome, Link."

Link nodded. The Gerudo didn't have a phrase for you're welcome. For the most part, once sarqso was said, the conversation was over. At least, that's how his conversations worked. "Okay, your turn. Are you ready?"

Aryll nodded.

"All right. If you were greeting someone, either just neutrally or around noon, you would say…?"

"Vasaaq."

For the next ten minutes or so, they went over Gerudo greetings and farewell, six in total. Aryll was doing well until she got to sav'orq, which she messed up earlier.

Link shook his head, "You're still putting too much 'k' at the end. The 'k' is there, but it's not heavy. Repeat after me, sav'orq."

"Sav'ork."

"No. It's not sav'ork, it's sav'orq."

"Sav'ork," Aryll said again.

"No. Okay, say 'sav.'"

"Sav."

"Now say 'orq."

"Orq."

"Okay. Now say 'sav'orq.'"

"Sav'ork."

"No," Link chuckled, "Stop being wrong. Sav'orq!"

"Sav'ork," Aryll crossed her arms and looked proud of herself.

"Stop," Link said, now starting to laugh. "Sav'orq!"

"Sav'ork!"

"No!" Link covered his face with his hands and was officially laughing. It wasn't even that funny. It was because Aryll kept insisting she was right that he was laughing. Aryll was giggling at his reaction.

"Sav'orq," Aryll said.

"There you go. Sa'oten," he muttered as his laughter died down. He placed his hands back in his lap and saw the ice pack was starting to look and feel damp. The ice was melting. He looked at Aryll and saw she had the book again. He wondered if she didn't mind being messed with. He squeezed the pack to let some water get on his hands. "Hey, Aryll."

When Aryll looked up at him, she felt something cold hit her face. "Link!" She saw him snickering. She used her dress to wipe her face. "Be careful, Link," she playfully warned, "I'm far more deadly than I look."

Link nodded, "Uh-huh. I am so scared."

"Link!" a voice suddenly screamed.

Link involuntarily flinched upon hearing his name being called out like that. The voice belonged to a vai, so he knew it wasn't Aryll. Link turned around and saw a Sheikah vai frantically waving and running up to him. It was Purah, being followed by Kada.

"Hi, Aryll!" Purah waved at the little girl.

"Hi, Dr. Purah," Aryll waved back and hugged her book.

Purah tugged at Link's arm, "Come on, Linky, I want to show you something."

"'Linky'?" When did she give him that nickname?

"Yeah!"

"It's been her nickname for you ever since I told her about you," Kada said.

"Come on, Linky. You have to see this." Purah kept pulling at his arm.

Link freed his arm and looked at her with a slight scowl.

"Can I come?" Aryll asked, still hugging her book.

"Of course! Now come on." She started pulling at Link's arm again.

Link broke free from her grasp again before getting to his feet, dusting himself off and following the Sheikahs. On the way there, Link threw away the ice pack; his stomach hurt far less today than yesterday, enough so that he didn't need it as much. They soon arrived at an area with two mechanical Octorok-looking things, both of which were being messed with by a group of mostly Sheikahs; he did, however, manage to recognize Robbie as one of the Sheikahs in question.

Robbie turned around when he heard footsteps and said, "You're back."

"Yup!" Purah exclaimed, "How's everything going?"

"We're getting there. Another hour or so and it should be standing," he added. He noticed the way Link was looking at the Guardian. "Like it? Purah and I have been working on these Guardians for years."

"Oh. So that's a Guardian?" The princess had told him about the Guardians, he'd just never seen one before.

"Uh-huh," Purah nodded. She walked over to where Robbie was and started helping him out.

"Come," Kada said. She led Link and Aryll to a cooking pot not too far from the Guardians. They sat down and Kada pulled out an old-looking scroll. "Since you'll be here all day, I figured it wouldn't hurt if you learned more about ancient Sheikah technology."

Be here all day? That was her plan? Well, luckily for him, it was a lesson he could avoid. "I already know about it."

"You do?"

Link nodded, "Yeah, the princess told me everything I needed to know."

"Well, did you know that we still use some aspects of Sheikah tech in our everyday lives?"

He did not know that.

"We do?" Aryll asked.

"Yes," Kada answered, "Have you ever noticed that when the sun goes down, the lanterns along the road start to light up?"

Link and Aryll nodded.

"Well, that's because of Sheikah tech. When most people think of Sheikah technology, they think of Guardians or Divine Beasts. But we also focused on tiny things, like lighting. Link, when was the last time you lighted the lantern in your room?"

"Never," Link answered.

"See? Sheikah technology in work."

"That's cool," Aryll marveled.

"Isn't it?" Kada smiled, then sighed. "Well, since you talked to Her Highness, you already know everything you need to. However, we are making progress with the Guardians. Perhaps you would like to stay and watch."

"I guess," Link muttered.

"Can I stay?" Aryll asked.

"Of course," Kada answered, "But both of you, don't get in the way. We're still testing these things," Kada said, then started to leave.

"Yes, ma'am," Aryll said before turning to Link. She and Link spent the next few hours talking about miscellaneous things and whatever came to mind. Aryll had to leave, saying she had a job of sorts in Castle Town. She was a Cucco tamer. A job to be respected; she was one of the few people who could successfully tame a Cucco. Not to mention, she kind of had her own pet Cucco, so she had to know how to calm one down.

Link was left with no one he knew, on a personal level anyway, to talk to. But Purah and Robbie would come over every now and then and chat with him.

"Cool, aren't they? I've dedicated my life to this, and it'll pay off real soon!" Purah said with a smile.

"I guess."

"You guess? What do you mean you guess?"

Link shrugged slightly. It wasn't that the Guardians weren't nice or anything, the orange they glowed was pretty, but it wasn't something he could focus on all the time.

"Well, get ready to change your attitude soon, mister. These things are going to become your best friends."

Link raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you'll need these when you're fighting the Calamity."

"When I'm…when I'm…" he realized what she said. "When I'm fighting the Calamity?"

Purah nodded, "Uh-huh. These things will distract Ganon, while you and Princess Zelda come to kick its butt."

"Me-me and the princess? I'm-I'm sorry, what?"

"Yup. You're the Hero. Well, you're supposed to be anyway. Didn't Kada tell you that?"

Link felt dread on the inside and was sure his face showed it. "No."

"Are you serious? You're telling me this whole time you just went along with whatever a random Sheikah chic was telling you to do?"

Link slowly nodded.

"You never once—"

"I did it!" Robbie screamed.

Purah completely forgot about Link and went over to Robbie. Link watched the Guardian moving a bit unsteadily. Robbie and Purah said they would have to readjust something to help the Guardian move better. Link watched in silence. He was never once told that he would be the one fighting Calamity Ganon. He only listened to Kada because his vaba told him that the Sheikah was a wise race. Link didn't really know what to do with the new information. He wanted to go back home, but for the time being, his room at the castle would have to settle. He stood up, dusted himself, and was about to start leaving but heard a beep followed by a slight boom.

"What the Farore was that?" Link said aloud.

"Sorry, Link," Robbie said, "We're testing something with the Guardians."

Link looked at the machine and watched as it fired a glowing blue laser into something. It then fired another and then another. Something was wrong. The Guardian fired near Purah, who shrieked as she barely dodged it.

"Robbie, stop it!" she ordered.

Robbie nodded. His attempt to get close to the Guardian failed. It fired a laser at him and he was forced to back off. The Guardian started to fire lasers everywhere, and soon enough, everyone in the area was running and shouting. Link ran behind a tree, quite close to the cooking pot. He stayed there for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. People weren't running around anymore, but screaming was still heard.

Link peeked out from behind the tree and saw that the scientists were too far to stop the Guardian, and the Guardian was firing so many lasers that the guards couldn't do anything. Everyone else was hiding and/or whimpering behind something. He saw the pot lid beside the cooking pot and wondered if he could do something with it. He used a pot lid as a shield before, and they were quite sturdy. Now he just needed something to get the Guardian's attention. He saw a soldier's spear lying on the ground not too far from him. He concluded that a guard dropped it while running away. Lucky him.

Link bent down and carefully grabbed the spear before leaning against the tree again with it beside him. He saw the pot lid again and took a deep breath. He only had one shot at this and he refused to mess this up. He dashed toward the pot lid and then threw the spear at the Guardian. It broke upon impact. He picked up the pot lid and the Guardian locked on him. Link focused on it himself. The Guardian fired and Link parried.

He then heard mechanical creaking and something crashing. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and looked at the pot lid. It was badly singed in the middle. He barely touched the lid's center before it broke away. An inch wide hole now in the center.

 _If this thing was any thinner, I could've been killed,_ Link thought. He shuddered at the notion.

He heard people making quiet remarks that soon grew louder. Purah and Robbie came out from their hiding places and went over to the Guardian. They started talking about plans to repair it and ensure something like this didn't happen again. No one seemed to realize that he was the one who stopped the Guardian. Not that he wanted the recognition. He didn't want to give the Sheikah another reason to believe he was the Hero. He placed the lid on the ground and started walking away.

"Link!"

It was Princess Zelda's voice. Link turned around and saw her running towards him.

"Link, I saw everything!"

 _Of course, you did,_ Link thought, _Out of everyone to see me, it was you._

She stopped in front of him and took a moment to catch her breath. "I was in my study and I heard screaming. I come outside and next thing I know, you're there. Stopping the Guardian. Those lasers are ridiculously fast. How did you do it?"

"A pot lid," Link answered.

"A…a pot lid?!"

"I parried."

"You parried? How did you time it so well?"

"I was lucky."

"Oh, please," the princess scoffed, "Something like _that_ , isn't just luck. What's your secret?" She took a step towards Link, who took a step back.

"It really is just luck," he mumbled.

Zelda sighed with a slight huff, "If you insist."

"Sorry."

"No, you're fine, it's just…I don't understand why you would blame it on luck. Things like _that_ don't just happen because of luck. And with a pot lid, too."

He saw Purah and Robbie heading towards them. He didn't want to be involved in the upcoming conversation. He pointed in the direction he was heading. "May I?"

"Huh? Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to hold you up."

They started going their separate ways. However, he was still close enough to hear the princess say.

"A pot lid. Incredible. Truly incredible."

Why was she still marveling about it? He heard Purah, Robbie, and Zelda's voices overlapping. This was going to spread just as fast as him being a Gerudo did. He felt like this was going to be used as an excuse for Kada to drag him off for more training. Or even worse, one of those two will tell the princess about his destiny. It wasn't that he didn't love Hyrule, particularly his home and family, but he didn't _want_ to fight the Calamity because he knew he wouldn't _survive_ fighting the Calamity. But what he just did proved he had… _something_ in him that would survive fighting it.

 _Goddess of the Sands, please,_ Link thought, _help me. I can't do this. I just want to go home._ Link then remembered his promise. "Stay strong for Vaba, Link," he said to himself. He took a deep breath. Hylia didn't let him be found for nothing. He was found for a reason. And if fighting Calamity Ganon was that reason, then so be it. Of course, being told more than 'you were destined for greatness' would've been nice. Link continued walking for a bit longer before deciding that it would be best if he just stayed in his room. After everything that happened a few minutes ago, he just wasn't in the mood for dealing with people.

He made it to his room, locked the door, and crawled onto the bed. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He was the Hero. What did that even mean? He read about the Hero who helped Nabooru. The Hero of Time or something. Regardless of which Hero, it didn't change the fact that Hero died over 10,000 years ago. Then there was the Hero _from_ 10,000 years ago. There was debate over that Hero's race. Some believed he was Hylian, some believed he was Gerudo. Link thought he was Gerudo. And that wasn't because he was raised by the race himself, it was because Kada showed him a tapestry that had a rough image of the Hero. Judging from that alone, that Hero was a Gerudo voe.

Link thought about what he would have to do. Fighting Calamity Ganon felt impossible. But he had to be able to do it, right? He was the Hero after all. Well, maybe he wasn't. Maybe Purah's tongue just slipped and she meant someone else. But she started talking about Kada. Maybe he was. Link went over this again and again to the point where he was starting to feel mentally drained. An endless cycle of whether or not he was the Hero, fighting the Calamity, and surviving fighting the Calamity.

The blue and gold sheets he was on started feeling more comfortable. Link managed to get off the bed and went to the desk. He took off his shoes and placed them by the desk leg. He then lazily took off his headband, the jewel scrunchie thing, and choker-like thing—he had no clue what you would call those—his earrings, vambraces, greaves, and pauldron, and was soon left wearing the actual clothing part of his desert voe armor—save for a gold band on his arm. Link crawled back into bed, curled up under the sheets, and sighed. Strange, when he felt tired mentally, all he had to do was stand up and move around, but he still felt tired. Maybe it'd be best if he just forgot about Ganon for a moment and rest.

When Link woke up, there was a persistent knocking at the door. It wasn't loud and annoying, but it certainly wasn't going away anytime soon. Link groaned quietly before turning to look out the window to see what time it was. _Holy Hylia, it's nighttime?_ Link thought, _I couldn't have been asleep for that long, could I?_ He looked back at the window. He fell asleep a few hours after noon and he guessed it was now eight. He put his face in his hands, "I can't believe it. I slept for half a day," he groaned. How in Hyrule did thinking about Calamity Ganon exhaust him so much? Link believed it may have been from feeling anxious. He sighed. Whatever the reason, he refused to focus on Calamity Ganon anymore. It clearly took a toll on him.

He got off the bed and went to open the door. He saw it was Lady Urbosa and felt a mix of shock and disappointment. Not in Lady Urbosa, but in himself. He was basically caught sleeping on the job. He thought yesterday was bad, well this day was going wonderfully.

Lady Urbosa seemed to ignore the fact that he was slacking off and said, "Link, get dressed. His Majesty wants to speak to you."

 _Of course, he does. Why wouldn't he?_ Link thought, but nodded to show he understood. He got dressed and followed Lady Urbosa to a room that looked like it was a royal version of a living room; King Rhoam was there, along with Princess Zelda, the Champions, and Lord Cyrill. Weird, if Lord Cyrill was here, why wasn't Lady Elfrida? And why did King Rhoam need so many people around just to talk to him?

"Link," Rhoam started, "it's nice knowing you could make it, seeing how long it took for Lady Urbosa to retrieve you."

 _That was my bad,_ Link thought.

"I would like to personally thank you for your bravery today. Doing what you did was no easy task."

Revali scoffed.

"If it wasn't for your skill, courage, and impressive speed, my daughter, along with countless others, could've been killed. If there's something you want in return, I can do my best to make it happen."

Link thought for a moment. His request felt selfish, but he should say something about the issue. "Can you stop talking about whether or not I'm stolen? I know you're pursuing it because of political reasons and I respect that. But the Gerudo didn't steal me. My mom showed me where she found me before; it's an hour or so walk from Kara Kara Bazaar. What would be the point of a Gerudo stealing me if she wanted to leave me in walking distance of the bazaar?"

"He's right," Cyrill said and Rhoam turned to face him. "The point of stealing is to keep. If the Gerudo just wanted to abandon him, what would be the point of going through the trouble of stealing him in the first place?"

Rhoam stayed quiet for a moment before turning back to Link, "Although both you and Lord Cyrill have a point, I still need something more than your word."

"Photographic evidence," Lady Elfrida suddenly said.

Everyone panicked, completely unaware of when the councilor entered the room.

"Lady Elfrida," Rhoam started, "when did you come in?"

"Oh, not too long ago actually."

"How did you get in without anyone hearing you?"

"Years of training, Your Majesty. At this point, I might as well be walking through walls. Poof," she made a gesture to emphasize her point. "But as I was saying, photographic evidence should work just fine. Grab a pictobox, take a few photographs, send them to Hyrule Castle in a letter, and that should solve everything."

"With all due respect, councilor," Revali said, "taking photos won't solve anything," Revali turned his head to glare at Link. "Besides, who's to say he won't just take the photos in different locations? Unlike the rest of Hyrule, weather doesn't change there. We won't be able to tell."

"I'm quite familiar with Gerudo Desert. I'll know if it doesn't line up."

"How could you possibly be familiar with Gerudo Desert?" Rhoam said, "The vacations you take are too short for you to get there."

"I have my ways, Your Majesty. But regardless," Elfrida looked at Link, "take the photos with parts of the landscape overlapping. That way, we'll know you didn't change locations. Actually, better yet: get Kada to do it. Tell her I sent you. She'll know what to do."

Link started to feel a bit trapped. She knew Kada. Who knows what else she knew.

Rhoam turned back to face him, "Well, since you and Lady Elfrida both know this person, perhaps it would be best if you consulted her."

Link wanted to zone out; he didn't want to hear anything else. He particularly hoped he wouldn't hear anything about a Hero, or him being the Hero. The conversation went on—excluding him, thankfully. The others spoke of how what he did required the skills of a Champion and yada, yada, yada. Revali then said if Link had even an ounce of a Champion in him, to prove it by doing the royal guard's test, and Link agreed; not because he knew what that was, but because wanted to get out of this conversation as fast as possible. Daruk then joked about Link doing the test, and Link agreed again.

The room fell silent. Lord Cyrill asked if he was serious, and Link said he was. He just wanted to leave. There was quiet talking before King Rhoam said he could do the test tomorrow. Why tomorrow? He would be here a few more days. Link still agreed, though. He just wanted to _leave_. Cyrill left, saying he would have to make arrangements with a Captain Garren about the test. Link asked if he could leave too. He was given permission, but before he could leave, a large hand blocked his path.

"Little guy, are ya sure about this?" Daruk asked.

Link nodded.

"Well, all right then. If ya need any help, I got your back."

 _Clearly not, if you're still blocking my path,_ Link thought; he felt a bit agitated, but nodded again. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? Mipha opened her mouth to say something, but he ducked under Daruk's hand, swung the doors open, and left, passing Purah on the way to his room; she was heading towards the room he was just in. He hoped she kept her mouth shut; the last thing he needed was her saying he was the Hero. Link entered his room and went back onto the bed, groaning and pressing his face into the pillow; he just wanted to leave. He just wanted to go home.

* * *

 **Guest: You're not the first person to guess that, but I'm actually closer to _turning_ 18.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed this chapter of** _ **The Hylian Child**_ **. And now's the part where I semi-promote myself. Feel free to leave a review, ask a question, or something. I don't know. You do you. Until next time. Bye~**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda does not belong to me**

* * *

Link sat by the window and listened to the quiet tapping that was known as rain. Kada explained the concept to him; in essence, water fell from the sky. Truth be told, he did think it was a bit wasteful at first, but then he remembered how different home and Hyrule Castle was. According to Kada, it was drizzling, which was why it was so light. But even though it was just a drizzle, the sky was cloud filled and it had a slight tint of gray. Kada said that meant there was a chance the rain would get heavier. Which, to be honest, he didn't really mind. He may not have understood much about rain, but he did know one thing, he liked it.

As he let his mind wander, he remembered the royal guard's test he was taking later. He sighed, then rested his cheek on his hand. How in Din's name did he not realize that by doing the test of the royal guard he could possibly prove he was the Hero even more? But he wasn't going to back down. One, he had the pride of a Gerudo, two, he was far too competitive for his own good, and three, he'd do _anything_ to wipe that smug look off Revali's face and tell him that he had what it took to be a Champion. There was a light knock at the door. With a sigh, Link got up to answer it; upon doing so, he saw a handmaiden who looked a bit annoyed.

"Are you Link?"

He nodded, but said nothing; evidently this was the wrong answer.

"Are you not well? What's wrong?"

"As far as I'm concerned, nothing. May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Coralyn. Princess Zelda's handmaiden."

"Okay…?" Link trailed off, confused as to why she was here.

"You have Her Highness worried sick about you."

"About what?"

"About taking the test of the royal guard. Do you have any idea what you're up against?"

"No, but I survived quite a lot. I'm pretty sure I can survive this."

Coralyn took a deep breath, "Link, you're going to fight a Stalnox."

"Is a Stalnox like a normal Stal but bigger?"

"Far bigger and far stronger. You have your whole life ahead of you, what were you thinking?"

 _That I really wanted to get out of a conversation,_ Link thought and shrugged. "It seemed interesting."

She groaned, "Well, you got Princess Zelda worked up, so if you're going to do this, at least do it right."

"Uh-huh."

Coralyn walked away and he closed the door. With a sigh, Link went back to the window and continued watching and listening to the rain. After a while, he guessed it wouldn't hurt him to actually train; he went to the bedside and started digging through his bag to retrieve his Gerudo scimitar, Gerudo shield, golden bow, and a quiver with about 50 arrows. Since it was drizzling, he decided to make his way to the barracks instead of the training grounds. As he entered, he saw there weren't many people. Some children were there, along with a few trainees and knights; fortunately for him, Satori was one of them.

Satori seemed bored as she messed with a bow. Link went over and the first thing she said was, "I'm stalling. Don't tell the commanders I'm here."

"Stalling what?"

"Training," she said and plucked the bowstring.

"Why would you do that?"

"I hate rain."

"…I like rain," Link said quietly.

Satori gave him a look before focusing on the bow again. "What a weirdo," she mumbled.

"Funny, since you wanted to talk to this weirdo."

"My friends wanted to talk to you."

"And where are they?"

"Outside."

"Training like they're supposed to, I'm guessing? Besides, it's only drizzling," Link said in an effort to calm her spiteful mood.

"So?" she looked at him before pointing to herself, "I was born in Faron. And in Faron, when it rains, it pours."

"Where?"

"What?"

"Where in Faron where you born? There aren't many settlements."

"Lurelin Village."

"Does it rain a lot there?"

"What do you not understand about Faron?"

"Everything, since I've never been there before."

"In Faron, every time it rains, there's a chance of a lightning storm. It's not fun."

"I've been struck with lightning before," he said without really thinking.

Satori loosened her grip on the bow and looked at Link for a moment. "How?"

"Incident with Lady Urbosa."

"How are you still alive?"

Link shrugged.

Suddenly Ryder's voice was heard, "Satori!" he said.

Satori flinched and looked at the man coming towards her.

"You were worried about a commander and instead you got a captain," Link muttered.

She smacked his arm.

"What are you doing here?" Ryder asked. "You haven't finished your training, much less started."

Satori didn't answer, not that Ryder gave her much of a chance to.

"Go and start your training now before I tell Commander Eagus to start adding hours," he said, pointing towards the door.

Satori looked miserable, but did what she was told; Ryder left with her, probably to make sure she actually went to the training grounds. Link got his bow and decided to start target practicing. A few minutes, Mipha and Daruk came by to see him; when he asked how they knew he was there, they said Ryder told them. As he continued his target practicing, Mipha and Daruk talked to him and both suggested he come visit their home. Link wanted to see Goron City first. He liked Daruk, and Daruk said that if he visited, he would make Link an official Goron Blood Brother. It sounded painful but he wanted to do it.

While Link was repairing, or remaking, arrows, he decided he wanted to know exactly what a Stalnox was.

Mipha answered him, "A Stalnox is quite similar to a Hinox. D-do you have those in the desert?"

Link shook his head.

"Oh. Well, then this will prove to be quite the challenge for you. A Hinox is a gigantic, powerful one-eyed beast. A Stalnox is that, but Stal. Like their Hinox counterparts, they're quite dull at first. But when they realize that you're attacking their weak point—their eye—they cover it. The major difference is that Stalnox throw their bones at you, and after enough damage, their eye falls out."

"What?!" Daruk exclaimed, "Their eye falls out?"

Mipha nodded, "After that, it starts to bounce around and quickly finds its way back to the body."

Link shuddered a little, "Ugh. That sounds disgusting."

"It really is."

"Have you defeated a Stalnox?" Daruk asked.

Mipha shook her head. "I'm only skilled in the art of the spear. I'm very unskilled in other forms of weaponry."

Link thought that being unable to use multiple weapons was…stupid, for a lack of a better term. He knew how to use bows, swords, clubs, spears, and some. He hated the thought of being trapped and only having access to a weapon he didn't know how to use. So while most Gerudo focused on spears, he focused on everything. He didn't want to say anything about the princess being so single minded in her fighting skills and asked, "Can you tell me more about Zora's Domain?"

Mipha then started describing Zora's Domain and its people. After a few hours—yes, Mipha _can_ talk about the domain for that long—Revali dropped by. Link suppressed a frown and picked up his bow as he went back to a target.

"Hello, Link," Revali said.

Link could hear the smugness in his voice, not that Revali tried to hide it. "Sav'aaq, you overgrown vure," he mumbled the last part and got an arrow.

"'Sav'aaq'? What does that mean?"

For a moment, Link considered telling Revali the truth, then said, "I forgot."

Revali didn't seem to believe him but said, "I hope you're ready for the test."

"Trust me, I am." Link drew his bow.

"What are you doing?!" Revali blurted out, causing Link to prematurely fire his arrow. The arrow missed the bullseye and hit one of the outer rings. Revali pushed off Link's reaction and pulled his bow off his back. He swiped an arrow from Link's quiver. He aimed and fired his bow, hitting the bullseye he made Link missed. " _That's_ how it's done."

"I know how to fire a bow," Link stated.

"Not correctly," Revali retorted and started to demonstrate. "You see, you're supposed to—"

"I don't need your help."

"Link, Revali specializes in the bow, he's trying to help you," Mipha said.

"If I wanted his help, I would've asked," Link said before going to retrieve his arrows.

"Then best of luck defeating the Stalnox, with that form," Revali spat.

Link looked at Revali, "There's nothing wrong with my form."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I'll prove it to you. I just need something to jump off of."

"You need to jump off something?"

"It'll make sense soon."

"I can be your stand, little guy," Daruk said, pointing to himself.

Link felt hesitant to accept the offer but Daruk was twice his height, so this could work. Link unhooked his quiver from his belt and took three arrows from it. Mipha was kind enough to hold the quiver for him.

"Tell us, what exactly are you going to do?" Revali asked as he watched Daruk help Link onto his shoulder.

"I'm going to jump off Daruk, and fire these three arrows into the bullseye of each target."

"So how exactly are ya gonna pull off this stunt of yours, little guy?"

"You'll see."

"You break your arm? Yeah, we're definitely going to see that," Revali said.

"Please be careful, Link," Mipha said quietly.

"I will." Link now stood on Daruk's shoulder. He took a breath before focusing on the first target and jumping down. He fired the three arrows and successfully hit the bulls-eyes. His feet hit the floor and he turned around to face Revali, "I have what it takes to defeat a Stalnox."

Revali seemed a bit at a loss for words.

"And I have an ounce of a Champion in me."

"Kid," a voice said.

Link turned his head and saw Lord Cyrill, who made a gesture for him to follow.

"Hang on, can I come?" Daruk asked.

Cyrill looked at the three Champions before looking at Link. "Do you mind them watching you take the test?"

Link nodded. Part of him didn't want Revali to come along, but he also kind of wanted to rub his victory in the vure's face. They soon made it to an area known as the lockup; there were tiny water channels carved into the ground. Why were these needed? Who knew. Some prisoners were quiet and others were quite loud; one insulted Lord Cyrill, who although seemed agitated, refused to react to the prisoner directly. Link then noticed that Cyrill had a royal broadsword attached to his belt.

 _Huh. Who knew Lord Cyrill could use a sword,_ Link thought.

Although the water channels took a turn, they didn't. They passed through two sets of large bars before standing in front of another one that had part of a gate at the top; Link saw that the cell behind the third set was large and circular with a pile of large bones. Lady Urbosa and a royal guard—probably Captain Garren—were waiting for them there.

"Lady Elfrida's not here?" Mipha asked.

"No one's been able to find her," Cyrill answered as they made it to the end.

"Hang on," the guard started, "who's taking the test?"

"Him," Cyrill said as he pointed at Link.

The guard didn't seem to believe Cyrill. "How old are you?"

"16," Link answered.

The guard looked at Cyrill, slightly surprised. "We're letting a kid take the test? I'm sure his seventeenth birthday is close."

"Captain Garren, he's a soldier," Cyrill said, "he'll complete the test." Garren didn't say anything and Cyrill went to a small rack with weapons. "Your goal is to defeat the Stalnox. However, there are some things you need to be aware of. First off, you're only allowed to use the weapons we give you, so…"

Link sighed and took off his weapons and gave them to Urbosa, who offered to hold them. Mipha still had his quiver.

"When you break these weapons, you'll be given weaker ones."

"If," Garren said. "Only a certain family with a bloodline of royal guards managed to do so."

Cyrill ignored him. "And if you break the new weapons, you'll get even weaker ones. If you manage to break those, you'll just get more of the same weapon. Understand?" he said as he handed the equipment over.

Link nodded as he took the royal broadsword, shield, and bow.

Cyrill held a quiver full of arrows. "This quiver has 30 normal arrows, five bomb arrows, and an experimental arrow that will destroy the Stalnox instantaneously if you decide you want to quit."

"'Experimental'…?" Link said as he hesitantly accepted the quiver.

"Dr. Robbie made it."

"Oh."

"Should you need more arrows, you'll get them in bundles of ten. Whenever you're ready."

Link took a breath and entered the cell. He heard creaking and a thud behind him. He turned around and saw the top was actually designed like the prison doors.

"Relax," Garren said, "It's just part of the test."

"It's also to make sure you don't run away," Cyrill added. "Now just read the inscription on the slab aloud, and the test will start."

Link nodded and went over to the stone slab, "'- Test of the Royal Guard - Strike down the giant foe to become recognized as a knight of the kingdom.'" Link heard shifting and turned around. He watched as the pile of bones came together and became living once again. The Stalnox fixed its head before turning around to face Link; weapons were lodged in its bones. A small part of Link thought it was funny, because he had seen something in the desert with weapons stuck in it, too. He forced himself to focus on the task at hand and took out his bow and an arrow.

He aimed and fired his arrow and it pierced the Stalnox's eye. It fell, and although its eye was covered, Link could still take advantage. He swung at the Stalnox, cutting bone, but it wasn't long before the Stalnox was up again. Link only succeeded at this two more times; the Stalnox slammed its fist on the ground, forcing Link to roll out of the way. He drew his bow, aimed, and fired, but the Stalnox covered its eye. Regardless, Link tried to do this a few more times before deciding it was useless. He needed to find a way to hit the Stalnox fast enough to the point where it wouldn't be able to block him.

As he thought of a way to do this, the Stalnox grabbed a pair of ribs and tugged them a few times before they broke off; Link heard a few comments from the group, but couldn't bother focusing on them as the Stalnox threw the ribs at him. He ducked, took out his bow and fired; the Stalnox fell this time.

 _Oh,_ Link thought, _so that's how you do it._ The eye fell out the body like Mipha said it would. "Oh, gods!" Link yelped, the bizarre sight startling him a bit. Link subconsciously took a step back before remembering the eye determined whether or not he passed; he gripped the hilt of the sword and swung it at the eye. It broke upon contact, and Link had never felt more screwed in his life.

"Kid," he heard Cyrill say.

Link saw Cyrill holding a knight's broadsword and ran over to take it. In that time, the Stalnox had its eye back in place. Link ducked under another pair of ribs and quickly fired his bow. He repeated this two more times, and on the third time the Stalnox was finally out of ribs to throw.

 _What're going to do now, you undead freak?_ Link thought with a smile as he gripped his bow. The Stalnox then detached its arm and Link lowered his bow. "Did it…did it just—ugh!" Link grunted as the arm knocked him into the ground. He saw the Stalnox's fist coming down and barely managed to scramble to his feet and run. He got his bow and fired an arrow; he quickly swung his sword at the eye the moment it fell out. Although the sword broke, the eyeball did as well, and the fight was over.

Link sighed, relieved; he heard creaking followed by a heavy thud. Turning around, he saw that a treasure chest had appeared in front of the slab. He went over to the chest and open it; his prize for defeating the Stalnox was a royal shield. He had a few of these back home, but he saw no scratches on it, or any indication that it had been used before. Maybe this one was new?

"Link," Cyrill said.

Link paused for a moment, realizing that this was the first time he had heard Lord Cyrill actually say his name. "Yes?"

"I would like to congratulate you for completing the test. However, seeing how quickly you completed it, the shield you received isn't the appropriate prize. You can keep it, but I need to talk to someone before you can get the proper award."

Link nodded and started following him out of the lockup.

"Nice job, little guy!" Daruk said, patting Link's back.

Link smiled.

"You did well, Link," Urbosa said.

"Sarqso, Chief."

"What's wrong, Revali? Got nothing to say?"

Revali scoffed.

"Be a good sport, Revali," Mipha said.

"Yeah," Urbosa started, "it's not Link's fault that you wouldn't survive that test."

"Please, I fought a black Hinox before," Revali huffed pridefully, "A Stalnox would be nothing."

"Well, have you fought a Molduga before?" Link asked.

"I've never been to the desert."

"That means you never encountered a Molduking either then. Lady Urbosa has and she survived fighting it."

Revali looked at Urbosa, "Have you?"

Urbosa nodded.

Mipha then asked, "Link, how difficult did you find the test?"

"Truth be told, I was expecting something much harder."

Revali's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "You found the test easy…?"

Link nodded.

"How?"

"I've just faced worse," he said with a shrug.

Mipha was going to ask another question but Cyrill said, "Link, if you want to put your shield in your room before we go to dinner, you're more than welcome to."

Link nodded before gathering his items back and retiring to his room. As he put everything on the bed, he spotted a letter on the desk. He opened it, removing the photos Kada took. Was he supposed to give these to King Rhoam or Lady Elfrida? How exactly did Lady Elfrida know Gerudo Desert so well? She said she had her ways, but that didn't explain anything. Regardless, he took the letter with him and went to the dining hall for a well deserved dinner.

"Cyrill told me you passed. Good job, kid," Ryder said, patting Link's back.

King Rhoam nodded, smiling warmly. "Congratulations, Link."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I, uh, I found this letter in my room. It's the photos."

"You can give those to Lady Elfrida when she gets here."

 _Lady Elfrida isn't here and neither is Princess Zelda. What's up with people and not being around today?_ After a few more minutes of eating, Princess Zelda arrived, wearing a white strapless dress and a pair of bracelets; a necklace with the Hylian crest on it completed the ensemble.

"How was prayer?" Rhoam asked.

Zelda shook her head; she seemed to be expecting something unpleasant.

"Don't worry, Your Highness, there's always next time," Elfrida said as she sat down at the table.

Ryder started choking on his drink and Link looked at Lady Elfrida. Instead of wearing a dress, she was wearing a tunic with a pair of pants underneath and also a pair of boots. Who would've guessed she had clothing that wasn't dress oriented. Once Link saw her face, however, he knew why Ryder was so surprised: she looked like she'd been in a fight. There was a bruise on her cheek, her lip was busted, and her sleeves were rolled up, showing an arm that had bandaging on it. Cyrill pat Ryder's back as the latter started coughing.

Rhoam frowned before saying, "What happened, Lady Elfrida?"

"An incident, Your Majesty," she said simply.

"What kind of incident?"

"I tripped." Lady Elfrida didn't sound the way she usually did; she wasn't being loud, and didn't have any sign of enthusiasm in her voice. She also looked anxious. Although her hands were folded neatly in her lap and her hair was done, she was quickly bouncing her foot and she didn't seem up to holding a conversation.

"Link has the photos for you."

"Oh. May I see them?" She took the photos and looked at them for a minute before smiling. "That's everything," she said quietly, placing the letter on the table. "I guess that solves every—what are you doing?" She saw Ryder holding Cyrill's fist near her face.

"Comparing his fist to your injury," Ryder answered. "It kind of lines ups. Were you punched?"

"I tripped."

"Then how did you get the knuckle impression on your face?" Cyrill asked.

"I fell onto the vanity."

"That doesn't explain the knuckle impression."

"I tripped and I fell onto my vanity. It's as simple as that."

"Are you okay?" Zelda asked.

Elfrida nodded, "I'm fine."

"And your arm?" Cyrill pointed at her arm.

"It hit the vanity too."

"Everything involves the vanity, doesn't it—ow!" Ryder hissed as Cyrill smacked him upside the head.

"More or less. Um, let's just eat, okay?" Elfrida's request struck everyone as a bit ironic; she had barely touched her food, having spent most of her time just poking at it with her fork.

Midway through the rest of dinner, Aryll showed up and gave her father and uncle a heart attack by bringing her pet cucco, prompting Ryder to say something about hating it when Kagami allowed the girl to bring her cucco inside the castle. A short while later, dinner was finished, and everyone left for their rooms. Before Link went to his, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to see Princess Zelda.

"Your Highness," Link said with a slight bow.

"Link, Mipha told me what you said after you defeated the Stalnox. Is it true that you've faced worse than a Stalnox?"

Link nodded.

"What was it? There aren't many major monsters in Gerudo. Only Moldugas, Stone Taluses, and Lynels; if you're like most of the population."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Why not? Whatever you faced must be something worth being proud of if you defeated it."

Link pressed his lips and looked at the royal and sighed. He had to give her some kind of answer. "Nothing major really. Just a really big monster camp."

Zelda put her hands on her hips and started glaring at him.

"Fine. I have fought a major monster before."

"Which one?"

"A Stone Talus," Link said slowly.

"Was that the only one?"

"No."

"Well, what else did you fight?"

"I'll tell you if you don't tell anyone else."

Zelda nodded, "I promise."

"I've fought white-maned Lynels before, and I've fought a Molduga before…"

"You have?" Judging from the look in her eye, she found this amazing.

"Lady Urbosa's fought the Molduking, so it's not much," Link mumbled.

"Link, I never met someone who has fought a Molduga before."

"There's Lady Urbosa."

"I know. But as far as I'm concerned, you don't have a special ability like her. That's what makes it so incredible." The way she said it was so matter-of-fact.

"I'm sure Lady Urbosa could've survived fighting the Molduking without her lightning."

"I know she could've too… Have you fought more than one?"

Link slowly nodded.

Zelda gasped, "How many?"

Link shrugged, "A few…?"

"That sounds like a question."

"I don't remember. I know it's more than three."

"How difficult was it?"

"Um, can we talk more about this tomorrow? It's late."

Zelda nodded, "Of course. Meet me in the garden after breakfast." She then turned to go to her own room.

Link entered his room and sighed. Princess Zelda; her enthusiasm when she showed interest in something was one-of-a-kind.

After a few more days at Hyrule Castle, Link and Urbosa prepared to journey back to Gerudo Town. Link was glad; Hyrule Castle had been an up and down experience for him. He'd met both pleasant and not so pleasant people, but more importantly, he missed his family. He stretched before placing the last of his items back in his backpack, putting it on and heading to Lady Urbosa's room to wait for her.

They went to the sanctum to say a final good-bye; besides, Rhoam, Zelda, and the other Champions, Elfrida, Cyrill, Ryder, and Aryll were there as well. Cyrill held something large that was wrapped in heavy cloth, and Aryll stood beside him with her cucco. Something Link noticed was that Mipha had an escort with her. Where in Hyrule was he this past week? Another thing he noticed was that everyone was on the first floor, save for two guards positioned by the throne.

"Champions," Rhoam started, "thank you for coming. I'm looking forward to your next visit in a few months. And Link, Lady Elfrida has something for you."

"Thank you," Elfrida said, "Link, I would like to give you your reward for defeating the Stalnox." She took the item from Cyrill, then came up to him and took off the wrapping. "This is the Hylian Shield. You defeated the Stalnox in the time required to get a Hylian Shield, so I hope you like it."

 _How long does it take for someone who's not me to defeat a Stalnox, then?_ Link thought. He hesitantly took it from her. He heard small remarks coming from others in the room but focused on the shield. The most notable feature was a yellow Triforce above a red Hylian crest; this type of shield was mentioned a few times while he was doing research, but he never thought he would own one himself.

"And this…" she took out a small orb, "is a Spirit Orb."

Link carefully took it from her. It was a deep purple, its sheen mostly lilac colored but occasionally changed color depending on the lighting. A violet colored Hylia crest was in the orb.

"Pretty, isn't it? I made it myself. Think of it as an early birthday gift, since your seventeenth birthday is coming up soon."

Link would correct her, because he had a wet season birthday not a dry season birthday, but he was distracted by the Hylian Shield and Spirit Orb.

"Well, if you ever want to come back, you know you have friends at Hyrule Castle. Safe travels."

Urbosa nodded, then turned to leave the sanctum as Link followed her. A mix of good-byes followed and Link turned around to wave a good-bye in return.

"Sav'orq, Link!"

The voices were overlapping so much that it was a miracle he heard the sentence alone. Link couldn't tell if it belonged to a girl or a vai. He turned around and said, "Farewell!"

"'Farewell'?" Urbosa said.

"She said it in Gerudo, so I said it in Hylian. Seems fair."

Urbosa nodded slightly.

Link took a breath, "It feels good to finally go back home."

* * *

 **AriTheDoggo: Link is a mix of smart and absolutely, without a doubt, 100% clueless. He can solve puzzles and get himself out of tough situations in battles, but he's also** _ **fantastic**_ **at overlooking details. For the most part though, he follows his instincts; so if they tell him to leave, he wants to leave. Also, thank you for liking the story!**

 **I hoped you enjoyed this chapter of** _ **The Hylian Child**_ **. And now's the part where I semi-promote myself. Feel free to leave a review, ask a question, or something. I don't know. You do you. Until next time. Bye~**


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